Draco

(dra'ko.) [From Gr. drakon, the dragon.] (Ast.) The Dragon, a const. of the N. hemisphere containing 10 stars, of which 2 belong to the 2d magnitude. It follows a winding course around the Le er Bear, and it is interesting as containing Alpha Drac on is, a star which has been supposed to have been the first polestar recognized by astronomers.-(Zool.) A genus of Lizards, fam. Iguanidæ, comprising small and harmle lizards, that are furnished with large, expansile, cutaneous proce es, which, when expanded, enable them to support themselves in the air for a few seconds, in springing from branch to branch, among the lofty trees in which they reside. They are inhabitants of many parts of Asia, Africa, and S. America. Draco, the first legislator of Athens, whose laws were so severe that they were said to be written in blood. He flourished in the 7th cent. B. C. [s. 300]