Bestiary — Bes ti*a*ry, n. [LL. bestiarium, fr. L. bestiarius pert. to beasts, fr. bestia beast: cf. F. bestiaire.] A treatise on beasts; esp., one of the moralizing or allegorical beast tales written in the Middle Ages. [1913 Webster] A bestiary . . . in… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
bestiary — (n.) medieval treatise on beasts usually with moralistic overtones, 1818, from M.L. bestiarium a menagerie, also a book about animals , from bestia (see BEAST (Cf. beast)). A Latin term for such works was liber de bestiis compositus. Roman… … Etymology dictionary
bestiary — [bes′tē er΄ē] n. pl. bestiaries [ML bestiarium < L bestiarius, relating to beasts < bestia,BEAST] a type of medieval natural history book with descriptions and moralistic and religious interpretations of actual and mythical animals … English World dictionary
Bestiary — A bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was… … Wikipedia
bestiary — Bestiaries were popular medieval collections of descriptions and anecdotes of both real and mythical animals, accompanied by moral commentary that gave a Christian interpretation to the animal’s stated qualities. The view behind the format of… … Encyclopedia of medieval literature
Bestiary (album) — Infobox Album Name = Bestiary Type = studio Longtype = Artist = Robert Rich Released = 2001 Recorded = Genre = Ambient Length = 53:09 Label = Relapse Records Producer = Robert Rich Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|2|5… … Wikipedia
bestiary — bestiarist /bes chee euhr ist, cheuhr , bees /, n. /bes chee er ee, bees /, n., pl. bestiaries. a collection of moralized fables, esp. as written in the Middle Ages, about actual or mythical animals. [1615 25; < ML bestiarium, neut. of L… … Universalium
Bestiary — The illustrated bestiary, depicting real and imagined creatures, is a distinctive medieval construct. Bestiaries first appeared in England in the 12c and were derived ultimately from a Greek text, the Physiologus, from 4c Alexandria. They display … Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases
bestiary — noun (plural aries) Etymology: Medieval Latin bestiarium, from Latin, neuter of bestiarius of beasts, from bestia Date: 1840 1. a medieval allegorical or moralizing work on the appearance and habits of real or imaginary animals 2 … New Collegiate Dictionary
bestiary — noun A medieval treatise of various real or imaginary animals. See Also: beast, bestial … Wiktionary
BESTIARY — a name given to a class of books treating of animals, viewed allegorically … The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
