Mantichora

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A mythical beast combining a human face, the body of a lion, and a scorpion-like tail capable of shooting venomous spines
2. A fantastical creature from ancient lore having the head of a man, the muscular frame of a lion, and a tail armed with poisonous barbs
3. A legendary monster depicted with human features on a lion's body and equipped with a venomous, spike-laden tail

Etymology: The creature's name began as a Persian phrase. Old Persian "martiya-khvar" combined words meaning "man" and "eat," so it translated as "man-eater." Greek writers adopted it as "mantichoras," and Latin later as "manticora." The Greek physician Ctesias, who had worked at the Persian court, described the beast in his account of India, and later writers copied and embellished his description. Ctesias gave it a red body, a human face, three rows of teeth, and a scorpion's tail that could shoot spines. Medieval bestiaries kept the human face and scorpion tail, along with a lion's body, and the creature became a stock monster in illustrated animal books.