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==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] ''monstre'', from Anglo-French, from [[Latin]] ''monstrum'' [[omen]], monster, from ''monēre'' to warn
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
The root of "monstrum" is "monere"—which does not only mean to warn, but also to instruct, and forms the basis of the [[modern]] English [[demonstrate]]. Thus, the monster is also a [[sign]] or instruction. This benign interpretation was proposed by Saint Augustine, who did not see the monster as inherently evil, but as part of the natural [[design]] of the world, a kind-of deliberate category [[error]].
==Definitions==
*1a : an [[animal]] or [[plant]] of [[abnormal]] [[form]] or structure
:b : one who deviates from normal or acceptable [[behavior]] or [[character]]
*2: a threatening [[force]]
*3a : an animal of [[strange]] or terrifying [[shape]]
:b : one unusually large for its kind
*4: something monstrous; especially : a person of unnatural or [[extreme]] [[ugliness]], deformity, [[wickedness]], or [[cruelty]]
*5: one that is highly successful
==Description==
A '''monster''' is any [[creature]], usually found in [[legends]] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_fiction horror fiction], that is often hideous and may produce [[fear]] or physical harm by its [[appearance]] and/or its [[actions]]. The word "monster" derives from Latin ''monstrum'', an aberrant occurrence, usually [[biological]], that was taken as a sign that something was wrong within the natural order.
The [[word]] usually connotes something wrong or [[evil]]; a monster is generally morally objectionable, [[physically]] or [[psychologically]] hideous, and/or a freak of nature. It can also be applied figuratively to a person with similar characteristics like a [[greedy]] person or a person who does horrible things.
Among newborn young and [[embryos]] of [[humans]] and most [[species]] of animals are found occasional [[individuals]] who are malformed in whole or in part (cf. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratology Teratology]). The most grossly abnormal of these have been referred to from ancient times as ''monsters'', probably because the [[birth]] of one was thought to signify something monstrous or portentous; while the less severe are known as abnormalities or anomalies or even birth [[defects]]. No sharp line separates these grades of malformation, all being due to various kinds and degrees of modification of the normal [[course]] of [[development]] of the embryo. The study of these deviations forms the subject of teratology, a branch of morphology or embryology.
A [[knowledge]] of the kinds of abnormalities and their causes may, like deliberate [[experiments]], increase [[understanding]] of normal [[development]]. Convention recognizes two major classes of monsters: those that represent defective or excessive growth in a single body, and those that have partial or complete doubling of the body or one of its axes. Otherwise, classic monsters spawn from [[legends]] and fictional [[stories]]. Well known monsters include [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula Dracula], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein Frankenstein]'s creation, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_man Wolf-man], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy#Modern_mummies The Mummy], The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisible_Man Invisible Man] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie zombies], to name a few.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster]
[[Category: Biology]]
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
==Origin==
[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] ''monstre'', from Anglo-French, from [[Latin]] ''monstrum'' [[omen]], monster, from ''monēre'' to warn
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]
The root of "monstrum" is "monere"—which does not only mean to warn, but also to instruct, and forms the basis of the [[modern]] English [[demonstrate]]. Thus, the monster is also a [[sign]] or instruction. This benign interpretation was proposed by Saint Augustine, who did not see the monster as inherently evil, but as part of the natural [[design]] of the world, a kind-of deliberate category [[error]].
==Definitions==
*1a : an [[animal]] or [[plant]] of [[abnormal]] [[form]] or structure
:b : one who deviates from normal or acceptable [[behavior]] or [[character]]
*2: a threatening [[force]]
*3a : an animal of [[strange]] or terrifying [[shape]]
:b : one unusually large for its kind
*4: something monstrous; especially : a person of unnatural or [[extreme]] [[ugliness]], deformity, [[wickedness]], or [[cruelty]]
*5: one that is highly successful
==Description==
A '''monster''' is any [[creature]], usually found in [[legends]] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_fiction horror fiction], that is often hideous and may produce [[fear]] or physical harm by its [[appearance]] and/or its [[actions]]. The word "monster" derives from Latin ''monstrum'', an aberrant occurrence, usually [[biological]], that was taken as a sign that something was wrong within the natural order.
The [[word]] usually connotes something wrong or [[evil]]; a monster is generally morally objectionable, [[physically]] or [[psychologically]] hideous, and/or a freak of nature. It can also be applied figuratively to a person with similar characteristics like a [[greedy]] person or a person who does horrible things.
Among newborn young and [[embryos]] of [[humans]] and most [[species]] of animals are found occasional [[individuals]] who are malformed in whole or in part (cf. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratology Teratology]). The most grossly abnormal of these have been referred to from ancient times as ''monsters'', probably because the [[birth]] of one was thought to signify something monstrous or portentous; while the less severe are known as abnormalities or anomalies or even birth [[defects]]. No sharp line separates these grades of malformation, all being due to various kinds and degrees of modification of the normal [[course]] of [[development]] of the embryo. The study of these deviations forms the subject of teratology, a branch of morphology or embryology.
A [[knowledge]] of the kinds of abnormalities and their causes may, like deliberate [[experiments]], increase [[understanding]] of normal [[development]]. Convention recognizes two major classes of monsters: those that represent defective or excessive growth in a single body, and those that have partial or complete doubling of the body or one of its axes. Otherwise, classic monsters spawn from [[legends]] and fictional [[stories]]. Well known monsters include [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula Dracula], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein Frankenstein]'s creation, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_man Wolf-man], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy#Modern_mummies The Mummy], The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisible_Man Invisible Man] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie zombies], to name a few.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster]
[[Category: Biology]]
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
