What Makes Dragons a Dragon?

[Drakel]

A simple question to start reviving this place. We all have a version of a Dragon in our heads though the main question is a simple one. What makes a dragon what it is? What should Dragons always have? What do they need? What do they NOT need? Why?

This is probably the most basic question of them all though I think it's a great idea for us to talk about (again) to get things rolling again.

[Falconer]

drag·on
ˈdragən/Submit
noun
1.
a mythical monster like a giant reptile. In European tradition the dragon is typically fire-breathing and tends to symbolize chaos or evil, whereas in East Asia it is usually a beneficent symbol of fertility, associated with water and the heavens.

So based on the dictionary, it's a giant reptile. Which I believe is traditionally the popular envisioning. While a modern scientific look would question the "reptile" categorization, visually and conceptually we're talking a big lizard.

[BeneathTheStarlight36]

words are subjective anyway, but i don't think western and eastern dragons are similar enough that i'd feel right calling them the same thing.

i'm more inclined to call western dragons "dragons", but that's just me. so to be a dragon, it'd have to be that, or something similar to it. humans kind of operate the same way; things like hair color/length/style, skin color, height, weight, body hair, body shape, etc all don't change one's species, so you'd have to make allowances like that for dragons too.

so i guess wyverns could be called dragons too now that i think about it, just without the front legs, and eh, maybe sea dragons, depending what exactly you consider a sea dragon to be. anything in the general spectrum of western dragons fits for me, i guess.

i don't consider fire breath a necessary element of being a dragon.

[Corva]

I suspect Dragons would be closer to dinosaurs/birds than reptiles. In terms of realistic Dragons which may have actually existed, it would probably be something that most people would call a Wyvern I think, with no fire breath and no front legs - essentially a scaly, toothed bird. If they seek somewhere warm and volcanic to nest, then that would explain why people think they can breath fire... maybe...

[Falconer]

Maybe all dragons have 4 legs and on wyverns they are just vestigial.

[BeneathTheStarlight36]

there are 4-legged reptiles with wing-like structures but they can only glide, not fly. i wonder how improbable it would be to have one that can fly.

depending on the wing size/shape (and the size of the rest of the dragon) and other factors, i think that could be very possible.

[asdf]

Defining it would probably be something like "if it fits 4 out of 10 characteristics it's a dragon." Can't think of the list though.

[Corva]

Does Glaurung count as a Dragon? Or does his lack of wings disqualify him?

If it's small enough to fit on your shoulder as an adult, and you're not a giant, is it a Dragon, or a Dragonet? Or a fire-lizard..

[BeneathTheStarlight36]

Does Glaurung count as a Dragon? Or does his lack of wings disqualify him?

If it's small enough to fit on your shoulder as an adult, and you're not a giant, is it a Dragon, or a Dragonet? Or a fire-lizard..

hm... well a dog without a tail would still be a dog. a human without arms would still be a human. i would say a dragon without wings would still be a dragon.

[Kojack]

Does Glaurung count as a Dragon? Or does his lack of wings disqualify him?

If it's small enough to fit on your shoulder as an adult, and you're not a giant, is it a Dragon, or a Dragonet? Or a fire-lizard..

hm... well a dog without a tail would still be a dog. a human without arms would still be a human. i would say a dragon without wings would still be a dragon.

Agreed!

[Corva]

How does an algorithm feel from the inside?

Remember, the categories were made for man, not man for the categories.

Related: Lumpers vs. Splitters

Maybe dragons of polyphyletic.