scorpion

noun

• a terrestrial arachnid with lobsterlike pincers and a poisonous sting at the end of its jointed tail, which it can hold curved over the back. Most kinds live in tropical and subtropical areas.

  • Order Scorpiones
• used in names of other arachnids and insects resembling a scorpion, e.g., false scorpion, water scorpion.
• (the Scorpion) the zodiacal sign Scorpio or the constellation Scorpius.
• (scorpions) literary a whip with metal points.

  [with allusion to 1 Kings 12:11]