Taxonomy and Etymology
The plumed basilisk's generic name Basiliscus is taken from the legendary reptilian creature of European mythology which could turn a man to stone by its gaze: the Basilisk. This name derives from the Greek basilískos (βασιλίσκος) meaning "little king". This epithet was given in Carolus Linnaeus' 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
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“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)