scorpionn.
/ˈskɔːpɪən/, U.S. /ˈskɔrpiən/ 1. † e. oil of scorpions n. (also scorpion's oil) now historical an oily substance formerly prepared from scorpions, used as an antidote against the sting of a scorpion, and for other medicinal purposes.
a. An arachnid of any of the genera (Scorpio, Buthus, Androctonus, etc.) forming the group Scorpionidæ, having a pair of large nippers and a general resemblance to a miniature lobster; they inhabit tropical and warm temperate countries in both hemispheres. The intense pain caused by the sting of the scorpion (situated at the point of the tail) is proverbial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Scorpiones > member of (scorpion)
scorpion?c1225
scorpioid1887
?c1225 [see sense 1b].
a1300 Cursor Mundi 693 Þe scorpion for-bare is stang Fra bestes þar he lai amang.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xviii. 153 For of alle venymes foulest is þe scorpioun.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xi. 12 Ethir if he schal axe an ey, whethir he schal dresse to him a scorpioun?
?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 766/4 Hic scorpio, a scarpyn.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 86 That well foretelling Winds, said, seeke not a scorpions neast.
1683 T. Robinson in J. Ray et al. Philos. Lett. (1718) 153 Since my coming to Montpellier I have seen several Scorpions creeping on the Walls... Animals stung by these scorpions fall generally into tremblings and convulsive motions.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 352 Those poisonous fields with rank luxuriance crowned, Where the dark scorpion gathers death around.
1806 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. VI. 485 The common Italian Scorpion usually measures something more than an inch in length from the head to the setting on of the tail.
1806 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. VI. 486 The Scorpio Afer of Linnæus, or great African Scorpion.
1882 E. R. Lankester in Linn. Soc. Jrnl. Zool. 16 455 The beautiful citron-coloured Scorpion, Androctonus funestus.
1882 E. R. Lankester in Linn. Soc. Jrnl. Zool. 16 460 A large number of Italian Scorpions belonging to the species E. italicus, E. carpathicus, and E. flavicaudus.
1882 E. R. Lankester in Linn. Soc. Jrnl. Zool. 16 462 The A. occitanus or yellow Scorpion of Southern France and Spain.
1902 E. R. Lankester in Encycl. Brit. XXV. 538/2 The desert Scorpion, Buthus australis.
b. in allusions to various fabled habits or properties of the animal.The flesh of the scorpion was supposed to be a cure for its own sting (see also 1e). The alleged fact, related by ancient writers, that a scorpion, when surrounded by a ring of fire, will commit suicide by stinging itself, is discredited by naturalists, though many persons in modern times have claimed to have observed it.
ΚΠ
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 154 Scorpiun is acunes wurm. þet haueð neb alse awummon. & neddre is bi hinden. Makeð feiȝer semblant & sikeð wið þe heaued & stingeð mid þe teil.
c1386 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 814 O thou fortune Instable, Lyk to the Scorpion, so deceyuable, That flaterest with thyn heed, whan thou wolt s[t]ynge.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Custome of Countrey v. v, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Dd/1 Women..rellish much of Scorpions, For both have stings, and both can hurt, and cure too.
a1711 T. Ken Edmund in Wks. (1721) II. v. 137 The Scorpion sucks the Poison he convey'd, An antidote to his own Poison made.
1813 Ld. Byron Giaour 8 The Mind, that broods o'er guilty woes, Is like the Scorpion girt by fire.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci ii. ii. 31 And we are left, as scorpions ringed with fire, What should we do but strike ourselves to death?
c. transferred and figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > cause of mental pain or suffering > [noun]
sorrowOE
ail?c1225
scorpion?c1225
dolec1290
angera1325
anguishc1330
cupa1340
aggrievancea1400
discomfortc1405
afflictionc1429
sytec1440
pressurea1500
constraint1509
tenterhook1532
grief1535
annoying1566
troubler1567
griper1573
vexation1588
infliction1590
trouble1591
temptationc1595
load1600
torment1600
wringer1602
sorance1609
inflicting1611
brusha1616
freighta1631
woe-heart1637
ordeala1658
cut-up1782
unpleasure1792
iron maiden1870
mental cruelty1899
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 153 Ich ne dar nempnen þe uncundeliche cundles of þis deofles scorpiun. attri iteilet.
c1386 G. Chaucer Manciple's Tale 167 Traitour quod he, with tonge of Scorpion Thou hast me broght to my confusion.
?1507 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 96 That scorpion fell has done infek Maister Iohne Clerk and Iames Afflek.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. xliiii Some priuate Scorpion in your heartes..hath caused you to conspire my death and confusion.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. ii. 37 O, full of Scorpions is my Minde, deare Wife. View more context for this quotation
1719 E. Young Busiris ii. 20 That Thought has fix'd a Scorpion on my Heart, That stings to Death.
1826 T. H. Lister Granby (ed. 2) I. xvii. 254 ‘That detrimental class, the Scorpions.’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Why, younger brothers.’
1924 R. Campbell Flaming Terrapin iii. 42 But life, a scorpion of tenacious hold, Fastened upon their spirits.
d. Heraldry. A representation of a scorpion as an armorial bearing (see quot. 1780).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > heraldic representations of creatures > [noun] > scorpion
scorpion1780
1780 J. Edmondson Compl. Body Heraldry II. (Gloss.), s.v. It is..usually borne erect, or with its head strait upwards..in which case it is, in blazon, called a Scorpion, without any addition..but when it is borne with the head downwards, it is to be called, in blazon, a Scorpion reversed.
1906 J. Vinycomb Fictitious & Symbolic Creatures in Art 122 The Scorpion..is generally borne erect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > biological product > [noun] > oils
castoreuma1398
castory1398
oil of scorpions1559
castor1601
liver oil1747
cod liver oil1754
cod oil1761
Dippel's oil1819
shore-oil1875
ray-oil1881
1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 293 That marueilous oyl of Scorpions.&c. Whiche bycause it is made without destillacion, I will describe it hereafter.
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. N Ere the officers come to extend, Ile bestowe a hundred pound on a doale of bread, which Ile cause to bee kneaded with Scorpions oyle that may kill more than the plague.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 185 Whereunto he layed Garlicke, Rue, and oile of Scorpions.
1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. Nat. Philos. i. ii. 48 The Oyl of Scorpions is not onely Antidotal against their Stings, but is witnessed..to be very useful to bring away the descending Stone of the Kidneys.
a1667 G. Wither Antidote against Fear in Misc. Wks. (1872–7) 65 The oil of Scorpions, heals, The Scorpions sting.
1736 Compl. Family-piece i. i. 55 Take Oil of Scorpions, and Oil of Bees-wax, of each a like Quantity.
1773 D. Garrick Albumazar ii. i. 27 Here's no great need of thinking, Nor speech: the oil of scorpions cures their poison.
1903 W. Besant London in Time of Stuarts iii. ii. 236 Pills made of the skull of a man that had been hanged, a draught of spring water from the skull of a murdered man, the powder of antimony, the oil of scorpions, the blood of dragons, and the entrails of wild animals were all recommended for special diseases.
1935 E. A. Tenney Thomas Lodge viii. 169 Although he recommends amulets of arsenic, the oil of scorpions, and poultices made of pullets' tails, he does it by authority of the best medical knowledge of the time.
f. Applied to other animals resembling or popularly confounded with the scorpion: (a) to arachnids of the closely related groups Pseudo-scorpionidæ (tailless or false scorpions, including the chelifers or book-scorpions) and Pedipalpi (including the genus Thelyphonus, known as whip-scorpions); (b) in the U.S., to tarantulas, centipedes, various lizards, etc. ( Cent. Dict. 1891); †(c) = water scorpion n. at water n. Compounds 8c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > division Pseudoarachnida > order Pseudoscorpiones > member of
scorpion1709
pseudoscorpion1826
false scorpion1875
1709 [see scorpion-lizard n. at Compounds 3].
1863 J. G. Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. (new ed.) III. 679 Book Scorpion, Chelifer Wideri.
2. Astronomy. (With capital initial.) The constellation and (now somewhat rarely) the zodiacal sign Scorpio n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > constellation > zodiacal constellation > [noun] > Scorpio
Scorpiusc1000
scorpionc1384
Scorpio1398
the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > particular signs > [noun] > Scorpio
scorpionc1384
Scorpio1398
serpentc1440
c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame ii. 948 Til that he sey the Scorpioun, Whiche that in heuen a sygne is yit.
c1400 Treat. Astron. 4 (Bodl. Add. B. 17) The viij signe is Scorpio, he regneþ in octobre and is y cleped the signe of a Scorpion þt is an Adder.
1593 G. Harvey New Let. in Wks. (1884) I. 278 Not much vnlike the progresse of the resplendent Sunne in the Scorpion.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 328 Satan in likeness of an Angel bright Betwixt the Centaure and the Scorpion stearing His Zenith. View more context for this quotation
1754 J. Hill Urania at Scorpio The Scorpion is not a very large constellation, but, for its extent, it contains a considerable quantity of stars, and some of them very conspicuous.
1785 W. Herschel in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 75 256 In the body of the Scorpion is an opening.
1868 W. Lockyer & J. N. Lockyer tr. A. Guillemin Heavens (ed. 3) 382 The bifurcation [of the Galaxy] continues through the Wolf, the Altar, the Scorpion, and Sagittarius.
1870 W. Lockyer tr. C. Flammarion Marvels Heavens 81 The Scales and Scorpion only formed one sign with the Latins before Augustus: the Scales were then the claws of the Scorpion.
1880 H. W. Longfellow Poet's Cal. Oct. Then on the frigid Scorpion I ride.
3. Applied to certain fishes armed with spines:
a. Used to render Latin scorpio, scorpius, Greek σκορπίος, in ancient writers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [noun] > with spines
scorpion?1527
sea scorpion1601
spine-fish1827
?1527 L. Andrewe tr. Noble Lyfe Bestes sig. tiiii The Scorpion of the see is so named because whan he is taken in any mannys handes he pricketh him with his stinge of his tayle.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 110 Catterpillers..are also a very good meate to diuers byrdes..& to a certaine Sea-fish called a Scorpion.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 223 The Scorpion of the water or of the Sea, whose discourse or history is to be found among the fishes.
b. In Australia and America, the local name for certain species of Scorpænidæ (cf. Scorpaena n., scorpene n., and scorpion fish).
ΚΠ
1874 E. S. Hill in J. E. Tenison-Woods Fish & Fisheries New S. Wales (1882) 49 The scorpion or Fortescue, as these fish are popularly termed by fishermen, have been known for a long time, and bear that name no doubt in memory of the pain they have hitherto inflicted.
1884 D. S. Jordan in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 263 Scorpene (Scorpæna guttata)..known by the names ‘Scorpene’, ‘Scorpion’, and ‘Sculpin’.
4. † a. A name for Aconite. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > [noun] > aconite or wolf's bane
monk's cowl1548
wolf's-bane1548
flint-wort1567
libardine1567
aconite1569
wolf's-wort1575
napellus1576
monkshood1578
napelo1580
helmet-flower1597
scorpion1601
napell1605
wolfwort1611
monk's-head1682
panther's bane1712
blue rocketa1825
bikh1830
friar's cap1830
fox-bane1840
Turk's cap1854
Adam and Eve1879
face-in-hood1886
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxvii. iii. 271 And for that the root [of Aconite] doth turne and crooke inward in manner of a Scorpions taile, there be that give it the name Scorpion.
b. The scorpion plant, Genista scorpius.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > broom and allies > [noun]
broomc1000
genistaa1398
junipera1425
broom-treea1450
cytisus1548
French broom1548
besom-weed1578
green broom?1578
scorpion-thorn1760
retama1764
retem1777
broom-wood1810
scorpion1840
scorpion plant1866
ginestra1884
scorpion-broom1884
tree lucerne1933
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 231 The greene Scorpion which is bredde of Basill,..beeing beaten and pounded with the herbe Scorpion, and so made into pills, then dryed and put into a glasse, are very profitable to him that hath the Falling-sicknesse.
1840 J. Paxton Pocket Bot. Dict. Scorpion, see Genista scorpius.
5.
a. In the figurative passage 1 Kings xii. 11 (and 2 Chron. x. 11), where chastisement ‘with scorpions’ is referred to as a symbol for severe oppression, the word has commonly been supposed to denote a kind of whip made of knotted cords, or armed with plummets of lead or steel spikes, so as to inflict excessive pain. Allusions to the passage are common, esp. (after Milton) in the phrase a whip or lash of scorpions.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > instrument or place of corporal punishment > [noun] > whip or scourge > with spikes
scorpion1382
scorpion lash1744
scorpion whip1824
scorpion-scourge1900
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) 2 Chron. x. 11 My fader beet ȝou with scourgis, I forsothe schal beten ȝou with scorpiouns [a1425 L.V. Y schal bete ȝou with scorpiouns, that is, hard knottid roopis].
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 229 If he hem smot with roddis smale, With Scorpions thou schalt hem smyte.
a1632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. (1642) i. i. x. 26 They..chose rather to bee..scourged with Scorpions..than yeeld to deny their Maker.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 701 Back to thy punishment, False fugitive, and to thy speed add wings, Least with a whip of Scorpions I pursue Thy lingring. View more context for this quotation
1788 V. Knox Winter Evenings (1790) I. xx. 180 I speak my thoughts freely, though I know the editors of newspapers have vengeance in their own hands, and are able to repel their assailants, with a lash of scorpions.
1816 Ld. Byron Siege of Corinth xxi. 32 Scourge, with a whip of scorpions, those Whom vice and envy made my foes.
b. Hence used quasi-Historical as the name of a supposed ancient instrument of torture. Also as the name of a medieval weapon (see quot. 1870).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > blunt weapons other than sticks > [noun] > flail or black-jack
flailc1475
wapper1481
scorpion1541
threshel1688
swingle1818
life-preserver1833
black jack1848
slung-shot1848
neddy1851
slingshot1891
slogger1892
Jack1911
nunchaku1969
nunchuck1970
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > instrument or place of corporal punishment > [noun] > whip or scourge
swepea700
scourgea1225
whipc1325
swaipa1400
flagellec1430
flail?a1475
foueta1492
scorpion1541
lash1577
sot1588
thong1592
chawbuck1698
knout1716
taw1787
flagellum1807
1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxxix. f. 98 His correction mought be no lasse than that he being al naked, shuld by his lybertines be fyrst of all whipped throughoute the citie of Rome with whyppes full of ruelles called Scorpions.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna x. viii. 216 He..bade the torturing wheel Be brought, and fire, and pincers, and the hook, And scorpions.
1870 C. C. Black tr. A. Demmin Weapons of War 425 Scorpion or flail, with four chains without balls,..a Hussite weapon of the fifteenth century [figured].
6. (tr. Greek σκορπίος, Latin scorpio, scorpius.) An ancient military engine for hurling stones, darts, and other missiles, used chiefly in the defence of the walls of a town.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > [noun] > ballista
ballistaeOE
ginc1325
mangonelc1325
springalc1330
ballistc1384
scorpionc1384
tormentc1384
trebuchet1388
fowler1420
dondainec1430
onagera1460
perrier1481
trabuch?1482
bricole1489
coillard1489
mouton1489
sambuca1489
martinet1523
racket1535
sling1535
brake1552
catapult1577
sweep1598
sling-dart1600
petrary1610
espringal1614
scorpion-bowa1629
swafe1688
sackbut1756
mangona1773
matafunda1773
lombard1838
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. vi. 51 He..ordeynyde..tourmentis for to cast stoons and darts, and scorpiouns for to sende arowis [a1425 L.V. scorpiens, 1535 Coverdale scorpions to shute arowes; 1609 Douay].
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxiv. 533 They within shot closely against the enemies, some arrowes out of bowes, some quarrels out of scorpions and brakes.
1608 T. Hudson tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Ivdith iii. 44 in J. Sylvester Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) Here croked Coruies, fleing bridges tall, Their scathfull Scorpions, that ruynes the wall.
1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. Prol. 5 Balists, Scorpions, and other such Warlike Engines.
1840 L. Ritchie Windsor Castle 214 Of the more powerful military engines then in use, were the scorpion or large stationary crossbow, the onager or wild ass.
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xix. 325 The slings, the crossbows, the scorpions were all at hand and in order.
7. Military slang. A nickname for a civil inhabitant of Gibraltar. Also Rock-scorpion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Europe > the Spaniards > [noun] > native or inhabitant of Spain > Gibraltar
rock scorpion1817
rock lizard1843
scorpion1845
Gibraltarine1883
Rock-scorp1912
1845 R. Ford Hand-bk. Travellers in Spain I. iii. 342 The houses..are fit only for..‘scorpions’, as those born on the Rock are called.
1889 H. M. Field Gibraltar 34 A choice variety of natives of Gibraltar, called ‘Rock scorpions’.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (often figurative).
a.
scorpion-kiss n.
ΚΠ
1961 R. Graves More Poems 33 Lady Morphia—Her scorpion kiss and dark gyrating dreams.
scorpion-nest n.
ΚΠ
1814 Ld. Byron Corsair ii. iv. 35 Dream they of this our preparation, doom'd To view with fire their scorpion nest consumed?
scorpion-sting n.
ΚΠ
1797 College: a Satire 2 Hardly could..Syd'nham's worth her scorpion-sting assuage.
b.
scorpion-like adj.
ΚΠ
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 497 So much rayling in such scorpionlike nipping & bitternesse.
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues (1713) iv. xv. 320 Scorpion-like Locusts.
C2. With the sense ‘stinging like a scorpion’ (cf. sense 5).
scorpion curse n.
ΚΠ
1803 R. Heber Palestine 11 Israel's sons, by scorpion curses driven.
scorpion lash n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > instrument or place of corporal punishment > [noun] > whip or scourge > with spikes
scorpion1382
scorpion lash1744
scorpion whip1824
scorpion-scourge1900
1744 M. Akenside Pleasures Imagination ii. 513 His hand, Armed with a scorpion lash.
scorpion-scourge n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > instrument or place of corporal punishment > [noun] > whip or scourge > with spikes
scorpion1382
scorpion lash1744
scorpion whip1824
scorpion-scourge1900
1900 Pilot 23 June 526/2 But exactitude in the hands of second-rate scholars is a scorpion-scourge.
scorpion whip n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > instrument or place of corporal punishment > [noun] > whip or scourge > with spikes
scorpion1382
scorpion lash1744
scorpion whip1824
scorpion-scourge1900
1824 Countess of Blessington Jrnl. May in E. Clay Lady Blessington at Naples (1979) 104 Byron..was..lashed into satire by the scorpion whips of envy.
1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies i. 74 It [the nation] must discipline its passions, and direct them, or they will discipline it, one day, with scorpion whips.
C3. Special combinations:† scorpion-bow n. Obsolete ? = sense 6.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > [noun] > ballista
ballistaeOE
ginc1325
mangonelc1325
springalc1330
ballistc1384
scorpionc1384
tormentc1384
trebuchet1388
fowler1420
dondainec1430
onagera1460
perrier1481
trabuch?1482
bricole1489
coillard1489
mouton1489
sambuca1489
martinet1523
racket1535
sling1535
brake1552
catapult1577
sweep1598
sling-dart1600
petrary1610
espringal1614
scorpion-bowa1629
swafe1688
sackbut1756
mangona1773
matafunda1773
lombard1838
a1629 W. Hinde Faithfull Remonstr. (1641) xxxviii. 118 Cyprian strikes them through, as with a Scorpion bow.
scorpion-broom n. = scorpion plant n. (b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > broom and allies > [noun]
broomc1000
genistaa1398
junipera1425
broom-treea1450
cytisus1548
French broom1548
besom-weed1578
green broom?1578
scorpion-thorn1760
retama1764
retem1777
broom-wood1810
scorpion1840
scorpion plant1866
ginestra1884
scorpion-broom1884
tree lucerne1933
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 199 Genista scorpius, Scorpion Broom. Scorpion-plant.
Categories »
scorpion-bug n. U.S. the water-scorpion ( Cent. Dict. 1891).
scorpion fish n. any spiny fish of the genus Scorpæna or family Scorpænidæ; also, an East Indian catfish (Saccobranchus).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Scorpaeniformes (scorpion-fish) > [noun] > family Scorpaenidae (scorpion-fishes) > member of
scorpion fish1661
sea scorpion1681
Scorpaena1706
scorpene1777
scorpaenoid1842
scorpaenid1885
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Siluriformes (catfish) > [noun] > unspecified and miscellaneous member of
sea-cat1601
gaff-topsail1794
mudpout1804
mudcat1819
blue cat1826
channel cat-fish1838
channel cat1847
sea-catfish1882
goujon1883
scorpion fish1883
bashaw1888
ground spearing1896
1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 221 Scorpion-fish... They are not the worst of fishes, especially if taken in the winter, yn stony places, & the pure Sea.
1863 J. G. Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. (new ed.) III. 247 Red Scorpion fish—Scorpæna scrofa.
1883 F. Day Indian Fish 36 In some fresh~water siluroids they [the eggs] are of a light pea-green, as in the scorpion fish, Saccobranchus fossilis.
scorpion-fly n. an insect of the family Panorpidæ, the slender abdomen of which is armed with forceps, and curls like the tail of a scorpion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > division Endopterygota or Metabola (winged) > [noun] > order Mecoptera > family Panorpidae
scorpion-fly1668
panorpid1883
1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 48 Scorpio alatus, the Scorpion-Fly.
1869 G. Guyon in Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip Jan. 23 The Scorpion-fly is quite harmless.
scorpion iris n. Iris alata, a native of Spain and Northern Africa.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > iris and related flowers > irises
gladdona700
gladiolusc1000
flaga1387
fleur-de-lisc1390
regworta1400
yellow flag1526
lug1538
yellow lily1555
spurge-wort1562
swordling1562
garden flag1578
ireos1578
iris1578
stinking iris1578
water flag1578
yellow iris1578
fane1597
Florentine flower-de-luce1597
stinking gladdon1597
stinking sedge1597
velvet flower-de-luce1597
orris1609
sisyrinchium1629
luce1642
Florence iris1664
cuttle-haft1688
blue flag1732
snake's-head iris1739
flag-flower1753
roast-beef plant1800
shalder1825
flag-leaf1827
sweet sedge1839
poison flag1840
flagger1842
wedding-flower1869
mourning iris1874
flagon1878
Rocky Mountain iris1880
Florentine iris1882
Japanese iris1883
flag-lily1884
sword-flag1884
blue iris1886
thunderbolt1898
scorpion iris1900
1900 Field 15 Dec. 936/1 The Scorpion Iris (I. alata).—Bulbs of this lovely blue iris are now flowering in pots in a cool greenhouse.
scorpion-lizard n. some kind of North American lizard.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > unspecified and miscellaneous types
provincial1575
elephant1601
roquet1666
scorpion-lizard1709
Guernsey lizard1769
geitje1786
pleodont1840
ngarara1843
sleepy lizard1883
tucktoo1896
1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 131 The Scorpion-Lizard is no more like a Scorpion, than an Hedge-Hog; but they very commonly call him a Scorpion. He is of the Lizard Kind, but much bigger.
scorpion lobster n. a long-tailed decapod crustacean of the family Thalassinidæ.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > subclass Malacostraca > division Thoracostraca > order Decapoda > suborder Macrura > tribe Thalassinidea
thalassinian1842
scorpion lobster1858
yabby1886
1858 W. Baird Cycl. Nat. Sci. at Macroura The scorpion lobsters of India, Thalassina, which live a part of their lives on land.
scorpion oil n. = oil of scorpions n. at sense 1e ( Cent. Dict.).
scorpion orchid n. an orchid belonging to the genus Arachnis, esp. A. flos-aeris, native to Malaysia; = scorpion plant n. (a).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > orchids
satyrionOE
bollockwort?a1300
sanicle14..
bollock?a1425
martagon1548
orchis1559
dogstones1562
hare's-ballocks1562
stone1562
bollock grass1578
dog's cods1578
dog's cullions1578
double-leaf1578
fly-orchis1578
goat's cullions1578
goat's orchis1578
priest's pintle1578
twayblade1578
bee-orchis1597
bifoil1597
bird's nest1597
bird's orchis1597
butterfly orchis1597
fenny-stones1597
gelded satyrion1597
gnat satyrion1597
humble-bee orchis1597
lady's slipper1597
sweet ballocks1597
two-blade1605
cullions1611
bee-flower1626
fly-flower1640
man orchis1670
musk orchis1670
moccasin flower1680
gnat-flower1688
faham tea1728
Ophrys1754
green man orchis1762
Arethusa1764
honey flower1771
cypripedium1775
rattlesnake plantain1778
Venus's slipper1785
Adam and Eve1789
lizard orchis179.
epidendrum1791
Pogonia?1801
Vanda1801
cymbidium1815
Oncidium1822
putty-root1822
Noah's Ark1826
yellow moccasin1826
gongora1827
cattleya1828
green man1828
nervine1828
stanhopea1829
dove-flower1831
catasetum1836
Odontoglossum1836
Miltonia1837
letter plant1838
spread eagle1838
letter-leaf1839
swan-plant1841
orchid1843
disa1844
masdevallia1845
Phalaenopsis1846
faham1850
Indian crocus1850
moccasin plant1850
pleione1851
dove orchis1852
nerve root1854
Holy Ghost flower1862
basket-plant1865
lizard's tongue1866
mousetail1866
Sobralia1866
swan-neck1866
swanwort1866
Indian shoe1876
odontoglot1879
wreathewort1879
moth orchid1880
rattlesnake orchid1881
dendrobe1882
dove-plant1882
Madeira orchis1882
man orchis1882
swan-flower1884
slipper-orchid1885
slipper orchis1889
mayflower1894
scorpion orchid1897
moederkappie1910
dove orchid1918
monkey orchid1925
man orchid1927
1897 H. N. Ridley in Jrnl. Straits Branch Royal Asiatic Soc. xxx. 68 Bunga Kasturi. Renantha moschifera Lindl. (Orchideae). ‘Musk-flower.’ The scorpion orchid.
1937 M. Covarrubias Island of Bali x. 336 Their garden is filled with golden flowers that grow side by side with the pandanus, the scorpion orchids, the..pineapples.
1961 A. D. Hawkes Orchids 108 The multicolored flowers are generally produced in considerable numbers, and their strange form has given them the common name of ‘Scorpion Orchid’.
1971 Ceylon Observer Mag. 19 Sept. 2/6 (advt.) Epidendrums & Scorpion Orchids, several colours.
scorpion plant n. (a) a Javanese orchid, Arachnanthe moschifera ( Renanthera arachnitis), having creamy-white or lemon-coloured flowers, somewhat resembling a spider; (b) a plant of South-western Europe, Genista scorpius, also called scorpion-broom, or -thorn.
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > broom and allies > [noun]
broomc1000
genistaa1398
junipera1425
broom-treea1450
cytisus1548
French broom1548
besom-weed1578
green broom?1578
scorpion-thorn1760
retama1764
retem1777
broom-wood1810
scorpion1840
scorpion plant1866
ginestra1884
scorpion-broom1884
tree lucerne1933
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > orchids > early purple orchids
standengussa1400
standelworta1500
gandergoose?1550
adder's grass1551
ragwort1552
cuckoo orchis1578
fool's ballocks1578
Palma Christi1578
standergrass1578
fool's stones1597
fox-stones1597
goat's stones1597
goat stones1597
testicles1597
dead man's finger1604
long purples1604
dead man's thumb1652
man orchis1670
monkey orchisa1678
meadow orchis1753
military orchis1784
male orchis1785
ram's horn1832
lady orchis1846
dead man's hand1853
scorpion plant1866
phalaenopsid1880
walking orchid1910
soldier orchid1934
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. Scorpion-plant, Renanthera arachnitis; also Genista scorpius.
scorpion senna n. the Coronilla Emerus, a common plant of Southern Europe, with bright-yellow flowers.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > other leguminous plants
peaseOE
vetchc1400
hatchet vetch1548
mock liquorice1548
scorpion's tail1548
ax-fitch1562
ax-seed1562
axwort1562
treacle clover1562
lady's finger1575
bird's-foot1578
goat's rue1578
horseshoe1578
caterpillar1597
kidney-vetch1597
horseshoe-vetch1640
goat rue1657
kidney-fetch1671
galega1685
stanch1726
scorpion senna1731
Dolichos1753
Sophora1753
partridge pea1787
bauhinia1790
coronilla1793
swamp pea-tree1796
Mysore thorn1814
devil's shoestring1817
pencil flower1817
rattlebox1817
Canavalia1828
milk plant1830
joint-vetch1836
milk pea1843
prairie clover1857
oxytrope1858
rattleweed1864
wart-herb1864
snail-flower1866
poison pea1884
masu1900
money bush1924
Townsville stylo1970
orange bird's-foot2007
1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I Emerus, Scorpion Sena.
1862 H. Marryat One Year in Sweden II. 271 Among the ruins grows the scorpion senna.
scorpion-shell n. a gastropod of the Indian seas and Pacific, of the genus Pteroceras, having a development of long tubular spines from the outer lip of the aperture.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Strombidae > member of genus pteroceras
scorpion-shell1752
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 144 The Scorpion-shell, commonly called the Spider-shell.
1859–62 J. Richardson et al. Museum Nat. Hist. (1868) II. 341 Genus Pterocera.—The Scorpion Shells, as they are called.
scorpion-spider n. a name given to various arachnidans (see quots.), now usually any arachnidan of the order Pedipalpi, a whip-scorpion.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Scorpiones > order Pedipalpida > member of
scorpion-spider1802
pedipalp1835
nigger-killer1856
whip-scorpion1912
1802 F. W. Blagdon tr. P. S. Pallas Trav. Southern Provinces Russ. Empire I. 112 I had before observed the Phalangium araneodes, or scorpion-spider.
1880 Handbk. S. Afr. (S. W. Silver & Co.) (ed. 3) 179 The large and wonderfully swift scorpion-spiders [Galeodes] abound in the dry upland districts.
1884 A. Sedgwick & F. G. Heathcote tr. C. Claus Elem. Text-bk. Zool.: Protozoa to Insecta i. 506 Pedipalpi (Scorpion-Spiders)... The Scorpion-spiders are allied both to the Spiders and the Scorpions.
scorpion's tail n. any plant of the genus Scorpiurus.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > other leguminous plants
peaseOE
vetchc1400
hatchet vetch1548
mock liquorice1548
scorpion's tail1548
ax-fitch1562
ax-seed1562
axwort1562
treacle clover1562
lady's finger1575
bird's-foot1578
goat's rue1578
horseshoe1578
caterpillar1597
kidney-vetch1597
horseshoe-vetch1640
goat rue1657
kidney-fetch1671
galega1685
stanch1726
scorpion senna1731
Dolichos1753
Sophora1753
partridge pea1787
bauhinia1790
coronilla1793
swamp pea-tree1796
Mysore thorn1814
devil's shoestring1817
pencil flower1817
rattlebox1817
Canavalia1828
milk plant1830
joint-vetch1836
milk pea1843
prairie clover1857
oxytrope1858
rattleweed1864
wart-herb1864
snail-flower1866
poison pea1884
masu1900
money bush1924
Townsville stylo1970
orange bird's-foot2007
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. D.iiijv Heliotropium mai be called in englishe Scorpiones tayle.
1835 C. F. Partington Brit. Cycl. Nat. Hist. I. 747/1 The Scorpiurus (scorpion's tail) of botanists.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. at Scorpiurus [The seed-pod] has a fancied resemblance to the tail of some reptile—whence its name, Scorpion's-tail.
scorpion-thorn n. (also scorpion's-thorn) = scorpion plant n. (b).
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > broom and allies > [noun]
broomc1000
genistaa1398
junipera1425
broom-treea1450
cytisus1548
French broom1548
besom-weed1578
green broom?1578
scorpion-thorn1760
retama1764
retem1777
broom-wood1810
scorpion1840
scorpion plant1866
ginestra1884
scorpion-broom1884
tree lucerne1933
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 326 Scorpion's Thorn, Ulex.
scorpion-wort n. (a) = scorpion grass n.; (b) Ornithopus scorpioides, native of Southern Europe.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > forget-me-not and allied flowers
forget-me-not?1533
scorpioides1578
scorpion grass1578
scorpion-wort1578
honeywort1597
mouse-ear1597
myosotis1857
myosote1858
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > vetch
vetchc1300
orobusa1398
tarec1400
ervil1551
ers1578
fowl-foot1578
oreb1587
urle1659
tare-grass1686
orobe1714
thetch1733
twine-grass1743
wood-vetch1766
tare-vetch1811
scorpion-wort1852–6
pigeon pea1884
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xlii. 61 Bysides these two kindes of Scorpioides, there is yet twoo other small herbes whiche some do also name Scorpion grasse, or Scorpion worte.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Oreille de lievre, Scorpionwort, or scorpiongrasse.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique Scorzonera, or Scorpion-wort, a Plant that has Leaves a span long.
1852–6 Wright Royal Dict. Cycl. Scorpion-wort, the plant Ornithopus scorpioides.
Draft additions March 2016
Scorpion's heart n. Astronomy (now chiefly historical) the star Antares. [After Middle French cueur descorpion (1496 in the passage translated in quot. ?1530) and its model post-classical Latin cor scorpionis (14th cent. in an English context), itself ultimately after Arabic qalb al-ʿaqrab ; compare Byzantine Greek Καρδία Σκορπίου , post-classical Latin cor scorpii (early 16th cent.), both after the Arabic name. Compare also quot. 1588 at Antares n.]
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?1530 tr. Compost of Ptholomeus sig. l.iv Vnder his firste degree ryseth a sterre fxyed of the first magnytude, the Which Astronomyers call the Scorpyons herte [Fr. cueur descorpion].
1670 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 4 1107 March 3. in the morning, the Moon passeth over Antares, or the Scorpions heart.
1754 J. Hill Urania at Scorpio They call this..Cor Scorpionis, the Scorpion's Heart.
1872 R. A. Proctor Orbs around Us 326 The star Antares, or the Scorpion's Heart, had long been a source of perplexity to astronomers.
2000 P. A. LaViolette Talk of Galaxy iv. 48 The Archer's arrow shaft would have been precisely aligned with the Scorpion's Heart around 14,000 B.C.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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