Bestiary
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈbiːstiˌɛɹi/ · Part of speech noun
Quick meaning: Bestiary is a noun meaning A medieval treatise of various real or imaginary animals.
Meaning
A medieval treatise of various real or imaginary animals.
More Meanings
- A collection of various beasts, depicted in art, literature, or the like.
- (gaming) A list or guidebook of the monsters to be found in a roleplaying game.
Example Sentences
Back in the 60s, Robin Boyd told us how ugly Australian architecture was. As his valediction, he has left us a bestiary of ugly Australians.
More commonly known to the English speaker as “Genie”; the “dijn” is a powerful demon in the bestiary of the Middle East, mistaken in this instance for the Buddha.
This book is not actually a bestiary. It is what most people think a bestiary is—namely an assemblage of vividly imagined beasts who behave somewhat quirkily, bear only the vaguest application to real life, […]
Later artworks showed many animals and gods, some of which were clearly identified with heavenly bodies. [...] Each shows a splendidly vivacious bestiary and pantheon, including the Sun-Moon-Venus symbols and a lion-versus-bull combat scene with an eagle or man-bull joining in.
Word Forms
- bestiaries
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include fauna, megafauna, bestiality, animalist, beast, satyral.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.