basilisk

noun

1. A mythical snake-like dragon, so venomous that even its gaze is deadly.

   “the deadly look of the basilisk”

   “The queſtion is in vvhat part of this Serpent the poyſon doth lye; Some ſay in the head alone, and that therefore the Bazeliske is deafe, bycauſe the Ayre vvhich ſerueth the Organe of hearing, is reſolued by the intenſiue calidity: but this ſeemeth not to bee true, […]”

   “And without more ado she […] fixed her wonderful eyes upon me - more deadly than any Basilisk's - and pierced me through and through with their beauty, and sent her light laugh ringing through the air like chimes of silver bells.”

   “As a revolutionary act of prophecy in an age of political science, Wissenkunst is a unique and anarchic expression of freedom, and not a new and aspiring system of indoctrination. If Wissenkunst is itself turned into political apologetics, then the fabulous plumed serpent is turned into a monster, a basilisk.”

2. A type of dragon used in heraldry.
3. Any tree-dwelling lizard of the genus Basiliscus: the basilisk lizard.

   “As a guide to start your collection we'd suggest either iguanas, tejus, swifts, basilisks, horned toads or alligator lizards.”

4. A type of large brass cannon.

   “Awake ye men of Memphis, heare the clange / Of Scythian trumpets, heare the Baſiliſkes, / That roaring, ſhake Damaſcus turrets downe, […]”

5. An infohazard or cognitohazard, especially a Langford's basilisk.

   “A basilisk, in this context, is information that can hurt you simply because you are aware of it.”

adj

1. (not-comparable)Suggesting a basilisk (snake-like dragon): baleful, spellbinding.

   “Well, She is so basilisk; there's no death in her eyes […]”

   “her gaze became more basilisk in its expression, and her countenance bore some similitude to that of a handsome fiend”

   “He had never seen her quite like this, so basilisk, so frightening”