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- European dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. In European folklore, a dragon is a serpentine legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek δράκων, (drákōn, gazer). The word for dragon in Germanic mythology and its descendants is worm, meaning snake or serpent. In Old English wyrm means "serpent", draca means "dragon". Finnish lohikäärme directly translated means "salmon-snake", but the word lohi- was originally louhi- meaning crags or rocks, a "mountain snake". The word lohi- in lohikäärme is also thought to derive from the ancient Norse word lógi, meaning 'fire' as in the Finnish mythology, there is also mentions of "tulikäärme" meaning firesnake, or fireserpent. Though a winged creature, the dragon is generally to be found in its underground lair, a cave that identifies it as an ancient creature of earth. Likely, the dragons of European and Mid Eastern mythology stem from the cult of snakes found in religions throughout the world. In Western folklore, dragons are usually portrayed as evil, with the exceptions mainly in Welsh folklore and modern fiction. In the modern period the dragon is typically depicted as a huge fire-breathing, scaly and horned dinosaur-like creature, with leathery wings, with four legs and a long muscular tail. It is sometimes shown with feathered wings, crests, fiery manes, ivory spikes running down its spine and various exotic colorations. Many modern stories represent dragons as extremely intelligent creatures who can talk, associated with (and sometimes in control of) powerful magic. Dragons have also been shown as guardians and friends of humans, with evil dragons simply misunderstood by humans. In stories a dragon's blood often has magical properties: for example in the opera Siegfried it let Siegfried understand the language of the Forest Bird. The typical dragon protects a cavern or castle filled with gold and treasure and is often associated with a great hero who tries to slay it, but dragons can be written into a story in as many ways as a human character, including as wise beings whom heroes can approach for help and advice; in some such cases they resemble Asian rather than European dragons.
- Dans la tradition européenne, le dragon est une créature ailée s'apparentant à un reptile géant, et capable de cracher du feu. Il évoque l'idée de chaos primordial duquel il est souvent né. Le dragon occidental, dans son sens le plus restreint, est généralement dépeint comme une grande créature quadrupède et ailée, semblable à un dinosaure, et capable de cracher du feu. Dans un sens plus large il englobe des créatures telles que la vouivre ou le lindworm. Représenté souvent comme une créature ailée, le dragon occidental se retrouve souvent dans des lieux fermés, une tanière souterraine telle qu'une grotte, ce qui rappelle son affiliation avec les serpents (qui furent eux-mêmes l'objet de nombreux cultes en Europe et Moyen Orient) et autres créatures reptiliennes. Les termes de worm (dans la mythologie germanique), wyrm, ou wurm décrivant parfois des créatures apparentées aux dragons signifient par ailleurs serpent. En finnois lohikäärme signifie littéralement "serpent-saumon", bien que le préfixe lohi- puisse avoir été au départ louhi-, signifiant rochers, et donnant donc "serpent montagne".
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- European dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. In European folklore, a dragon is a serpentine legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek δράκων, (drákōn, gazer). The word for dragon in Germanic mythology and its descendants is worm, meaning snake or serpent. In Old English wyrm means "serpent", draca means "dragon".
- Dans la tradition européenne, le dragon est une créature ailée s'apparentant à un reptile géant, et capable de cracher du feu. Il évoque l'idée de chaos primordial duquel il est souvent né. Le dragon occidental, dans son sens le plus restreint, est généralement dépeint comme une grande créature quadrupède et ailée, semblable à un dinosaure, et capable de cracher du feu. Dans un sens plus large il englobe des créatures telles que la vouivre ou le lindworm.
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