black dragon en · NOUN
Etymology
In sense 2, a calque of Chinese 烏龍 /乌龙 (wūlóng).
Meanings
- (uncountable) Synonym of black tar heroin.
- (uncountable) Oolong tea or any of certain types thereof.
-
(countable, slang) A hyper-melanistic (all black) Asian water monitor.
Hyper melanistic water monitors or “black dragons” are a naturally occurring heritable color phase. Black dragons from the Thailand locality, generally are referred to as the subspecies komaini.
2018 December 19, Joshua Ortiz, “Asian Water Monitor Breeding And Care Tips”, in Reptile Magazine (blog), archived from the original on 07 Jun 2026, Availability/Captive Asian Water Monitor Morphs:Some say that Black Dragons^([sic]) (a.k.a komaini) stay smaller than the mainland water monitors.
2022 January 19, “What is a Black Dragon?”, in Imperial Reptiles (blog), archived from the original on 21 Mar 2025, What is the Difference between an Asian Water Monitor and a Black Dragon?:Hey guys I’ve been looking at buying a black dragon […] I came across one on morph market told me his black dragon monitors are on the smaller side cause of localities […]
2024 October 20, u/LiteratureDiligent30, “Thinking about buying a black dragon”, in r/MonitorLizards (Reddit post), archived from the original on 07 Jun 2026:
- (countable, uncountable) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see black, dragon.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| black dragons | Number=Plur | lexicographic |