acontias

[Gr. ἀκοντίας ( akontias ) = a quick-darting serpent; ἀκόντιον ( akontion ) = a dart or javelin; ἄκων ( ακōn ) = a javelin; ἀκή ( ake ) = a point, an edge.] 1. Zool.: A genus of snake-like lizards, belonging to the family An guide. The species are akin to the Anguis fragilis , but can rear themselves up and dart forwards. Contrary, however, to common belief in the regions which they inhabit, they are quite harmle . A. meleagris is the Cape pintado snake. 4. jaculis, the dart-snake of the Greeks and Romans, and, according to Bochart, also the קפון ) qippoz ) mentioned in Isaiah xxxiv. 15, which is improperly rendered "great owl" in the authorised English version of the Bible. [DART-SNAKE.] 2. Bot . A genus of Brazilian plants belonging to the order Araceæ, or Arads. So named because the spots on the stem were supposed to resemble the serpents above described. *3. Astron.: A comet, or meteor, so called from its resemblance to a snake.