zilant

English

A zilant on a historical coat of arms of Kazan Governate.

The Tatar name of Kazan may be drawn in the form of a zilant.

Alternative forms

• Zilant

Etymology

Russian Зилант (Zilant), from Tatar yılan/елан (yelan, “snake”).

Noun

zilant (plural zilants)

1. (rare) A winged snake- or dragon-like creature in the mythology of the Russian, Tatar, Chuvash and Mari peoples around Kazan.
   • 2008, Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia, volumes 47-48, page 93:

     The creature zilant is depicted. Part snake, part dragon, it has wings and a curled tail, for example on the coat of arms of Kazan dating from 1730. While some of the legends associated with the zilant link it to Bulgar conceptions of "flying snakes" found in trees, others legends connect the zilant to the Altai mountains, and specific Turkic ancestors of the Tatars, the Kypchaks.

   • 2012, Steffan Becker, The Mysterious World of Eddy Shade, →ISBN, page 17:

     "I called her while you were watching the zilants out your window."

   • 2017, Christina Clarry, The Great Wizard Wars, Troubador Publishing Ltd, →ISBN:

     […] her eyes locked on the zilant, she unscrewed the vial and waved it under the zilant';s nostrils. Its eyes glazed over and it bowed its head. Hecate had won the battle of wills by blocking the zilant's resistance. The other zilants would follow her […]