The dragon is a legendary creature with serpentine or otherwise reptilian traits that features in the myths of many cultures.
The two most familiar interpretations of dragons are European dragons, derived from various European folk traditions, and the unrelated Oriental dragons, derived from the Chinese dragon (lóng,龍,龙). The word "dragon" derives from Greek δράκων (drakōn), "a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon" and that from δρακεῖν (drakein) aorist infinitive active of the verb δέρκομαι (derkomai) "I see clearly".
Dragons are usually shown in modern times with a body like a huge lizard, or a snake with two pairs of lizard-type legs, and able to emit fire from its mouth. The European dragon has bat-type wings growing from its back. A dragon-like creature with no front legs is known as a wyvern. Following discovery of how pterosaurs walked on the ground, some dragons have been drawn without front legs and using the wings as front legs pterosaur-fashion when on the ground, as in the movie Reign of Fire.
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Saint George slaying the dragon, as depicted by Paolo Uccello, c. 1470
