From Greek 'drakon' (the seeing one) — from 'derkomai' (to gaze). The serpent was named for its terrifying, unblinking stare.
A mythical monster like a giant reptile, typically with wings, the ability to breathe fire, and a long tail.
From Old French 'dragon,' from Latin 'dracō' (huge serpent, dragon), from Greek 'drákōn' (δράκων, serpent, giant seafish), literally 'the seeing one' or 'the one with the deadly glance,' from 'dérkomai' (δέρκομαι, to see clearly, to look with a piercing gaze), from PIE *derḱ- (to see). The dragon was named for its terrifying, penetrating gaze — ancient Greeks believed serpents could paralyze with a look. The same root gives Greek 'ophthalmos' indirectly and connects to sight across Indo-European languages. Key roots: drákōn (Greek: "serpent (literally 'the seeing one')"), dérkomai (Greek: "to see clearly, to gaze with piercing eyes"), *derḱ- (Proto-Indo-European: "to see").
A dragon is literally 'the one who sees.' Greek 'drákōn' comes from 'dérkomai' (to see with a piercing gaze), from PIE *derḱ- (to see). Ancient Greeks named the serpent for its unblinking, paralyzing stare. The same root produced Sanskrit 'darś' (to see) and Old Irish 'derc' (eye). Bram Stoker may have known this when he named Count Dracula — 'Dracul' means 'dragon' in Romanian, so Dracula is 'son of the seeing