@nino
Dragons don't have to have wings. In this I am solid as rock, and am immoveable.
Your debate is making me impatient. Therefore I post this:
-a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
-a fiercely vigilant and unpleasant woman
-Draco: a faint constellation twisting around the north celestial pole and lying between Ursa Major and Cepheus
-any of several small tropical Asian lizards capable of gliding by spreading winglike membranes on each side of the body
drag·on (drgn)
n.
1. A mythical monster traditionally represented as a gigantic reptile having a lion's claws, the tail of a serpent, wings, and a scaly skin.
2.
a. A fiercely vigilant or intractable person.
b. Something very formidable or dangerous.
3. Any of various lizards, such as the Komodo dragon or the flying lizard.
4. Archaic A large snake or serpent.
17th Century
The dragon, a winged serpent, killeth with his breath.
20th Century
An imaginary monster that looks like a giant lizard with wings and claws.
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(Essay excerpts cited to
http://www.polenth.demon.co.uk/myth/esswhat.html
"In modern times, the idea of what a dragon looks like has become increasingly stereotypical: reptilian, two bat-like wings, four legs, long neck and tail, tail spade, breaths fire, hoards treasure, and is often green. But this was not always the case. Ancient dragons were very diverse in form and behaviour. This diversity makes it difficult to write a definition of what a dragon is.
One answer would be to say that a dragon is any monster which is claimed to be a dragon by the tellers of the myth. There is a big language problem with this approach. In many cultures dragons have a close affinity with some other species. The dividing line between snakes and dragons is particularly small in many cultures. Some serpentine dragons look like giant snakes, and have some snake-like attributes (such as spitting poison). This similarity is reflected in language: often one word can be used to describe a snake or a dragon. Among the Polynesians, Mo'o or Moko1, means a lizard of some type. From language alone the moko of a legend could just as easily be a fearsome dragon, or a cute little gecko.
-Reptile-like in appearance or behaviour.
-Breathing or spitting fire or poison.
-Living in water, or being associated with water.
-Having control over some aspect of the weather (particularly storms, rain, wind and floods).
-Being able to fly (not necessarily by having wings).
-Guarding something (often treasure or knowledge, but it could be a city, maiden, or some other resource. This also leads to comments about a dragon's vigilance, as many of these guardians fight to the death to protect the resource).
-Magical/Supernatural powers. Sometimes these are powers displayed by the live dragons, and sometimes magical properties of dead parts of the dragon.
-Having bird-like traits2 (most commonly feathers).
-Roundals on the wings and/or body.
-Ability to turn into another type of animal (including human).
-Holding a position of power (such as a being a god, or close servant of the gods).
Stereotype 1 - Western dragons are evil, and Eastern dragons are good
Stereotype 2 - Dragons must have legs and wings
Stereotype 3 - Dragons must be intelligent
Stereotype 4 - Mythological dragons are large
Defining dragons is a very complex subject, and cannot be done with a few sentences. Even a more elaborate definition, such as this one, has problems classifying some creatures. Ancient sources of dragon information can be hard to translate, and some information may only be found in one source. This means that sources cannot always be crossed checked. Even with good sources, there are some creatures who are borderline cases, such as nagas. Nagas are from India. They are serpents, with human heads. Many have supernatural powers. Nagas would not be the first dragons to look chimeric. Having human parts is not intrinsically different from a dragon having bird wings or fish fins. Dragons already share other human traits (such as intelligence), so why could a dragon not share physical traits too? It is a matter of opinion whether there is a difference in looking like a human, to looking like a bird. Issues like this also contribute to blurring the borderlines of what is a dragon, and what is not a dragon. "
I hope I have made a point.
