amphisbaena
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Latin amphisbaena, from Ancient Greek ἀμφίσβαινα (amphísbaina, from ἀμφίς (amphís, “both ways”) + βαίνω (baínō, “I go”)).
Pronunciation
Noun
amphisbaena (plural amphisbaenas)
- (mythology) A mythical serpent having a head at each end of its body, able to move in either direction.
- 1971: What do you call that animal that goes backward and forward, head at each end? —'Amphisbaena'. A kind of lizard. It doesn't exist. — Anthony Burgess, M/F (Penguin 2004, p. 109)
- A member of a genus of lizards, native to the Americas, having extremities which are very similar.
Derived terms
Translations
mythical serpent having a head at each end of its body
any of the genus Amphisbaena of legless lizards
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