Nagini/basilisk/snake ramblings

[Joywitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 218

> > As I read CoS, I didn't think that a basilisk was anthing other 
than
> > a snake (I'd never heard the term *basilisk*, and since Tom 
Riddle was

> It is a snake in CoS.  I think JKR must have modified the 
mythological
> basilisk to suit her purposes 

According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English 
Language, a basilisk is

basilisk (bàs´e-lîsk´, bàz´-) noun
1.	A legendary serpent or dragon with lethal breath and glance.
2.	Any of various tropical American lizards of the genus 
Basiliscus, characterized by a crest on the head, back, and tail and 
the ability to run on the hind legs.

and a serpent is

serpent (sûr´pent) noun
1.	A reptile of the order Serpentes; a snake.

In other words a mythological basilisk is a snake or a dragon, and a 
real basilisk is a type of lizard.