Dictionary

scorpion

see also: Scorpion

Pronunciation

Noun

scorpion (plural scorpions)

Any of various arachnids of the order Scorpiones, related to the spiders, characterised by two large front pincers and a curved tail with a venomous sting in the end.
The peasants put two scorpions in a large bottle, and then take wagers as to which will win the struggle. Slowly the scorpions circle each other, until one lashes out at the other, and strikes him dead.
(historical) An ancient military engine for hurling stones and other missiles.
A very spiteful or vindictive person.
A cheerleading move in which one foot is pulled back and held up with both hands while the performer stands on the other foot.
(obsolete, biblical) A whip with points like a scorpion's tail.

Translations

Scorpion

Noun

scorpion (plural scorpions)

The constellation and zodiacal sign Scorpio.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:
  And now thir way to Earth they had descri'd, / To Paradise first tending, when behold / Satan in likeness of an Angel bright / Betwixt the Centaure and the Scorpion stearing / His Zenith, while the Sun in Aries rose […]
- 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin 2005, p. 123:
  Smiling proudly, he glanced outward at the country, which was still invisible except as a dark movement in the darkness; then upwards at the sky, where the stars of the sprawling Scorpion had begun to pale.
Someone with the Scorpio star sign

Adjective

scorpion (not comparable)

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