Definitions
arachnid of warm dry regions having a long segmented tail ending in a venomous stinger
Word origin
From Middle English scorpioun, skorpioun, schorpion, schorpiun, partly from Old English sċorpio and partly from Anglo-Norman scorpïun, Old French scorpïon, escorpïon; all from Latin scorpiō, ultimately from Ancient Greek σκορπίος (skorpíos). The cheerleading move is so called because of the resemblance of the raised foot to a scorpion's stinger. Displaced native Old English þrōwend (“scorpion”).
Used in a sentence
“Who led thee through that great and terrible wildernesse, wherein were fierie serpents, and scorpions, & drought, where there was no water, who brought thee foorth water out of the rocke of flint,”
“And now whereas my father did lade you with a heauy yoke, I wil adde to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whippes, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
“And now thir way to Earth they had descri'd, / To Paradise first tending, when behold / Satan in likeness of an Angel bright / Betwixt the Centaure and the Scorpion stearing / His Zenith, while the Sun in Aries rose […]”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Stinging desert arachnid”8 letters
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