Terms for male and female dragon? [closed]

Question

Many animals have terms specifying a certain sex, for example stag and doe for deer. The term drake is usually used to signify a particular species of dragon (e.g. as opposed to a wyvern), but in "real" biology the term drake is used for a male swan. This got me thinking: is there a term for male and female dragons in the same way?

Answer 1

Drakon and Drakaina

Going to the very root of the word Dragon, it is derived from the Greek Drakon:

The word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French dragon, which in turn comes from Latin draconem (nominative draco) meaning "huge serpent, dragon", from the Greek word δράκων, drakon (genitive drakontos, δράκοντος) "serpent, giant seafish". The Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, not necessarily mythological

_Wikipedia

The feminine form of this is the greek work δράκαινα - Drakaina. In Greek mythology they tended to have feminine features and included Delphyne, Campe, Python and Echidna, and would not fit with the later European idea of the Dragon.

This can be seen by the painting of Apollo slaying Python on a 6th Century BC lekythos on display in the Louvre.

Python has a serpent body and a female head.

However, male Drakon, didn't look like European Dragons either.

Here is Zeus slaying Typhon a Drakon. Note the male upper body, serpentine lower body and wings.

Homer wrote about Drakaina when describing Apollo killing Python.

But near by was a sweet flowing spring, and there with his strong bow the lord, the son of Zeus, killed the bloated, great she-dragon, a fierce monster wont to do great mischief to men upon earth

_{The Homeric Hymn to Apollo - Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White}

And in the original greek.

ξεστοῖσιν λάεσσιν, ἀοίδιμον ἔμμεναι αἰεί. 300ἀγχοῦ δὲ κρήνη καλλίρροος, ἔνθα δράκαιναν κτεῖνεν ἄναξ, Διὸς υἱός, ἀπὸ κρατεροῖο βιοῖο,

_{The Homeric Hymn to Apollo}

As Dragon is the anglicised version of Drakon, one could expect the anglicised version of Drakaina to be Dragaina.