Dragons have been portrayed in many different ways over the centuries. There are many different styles to the varied pictures of dragons. The name itself comes from the Greek word Drakon meaning serpent of huge size or water snake. This would indicate that the animal that was originally regarded as a dragon by the Greeks and their neighbors was likely a water creature. The reports of these creatures and perhaps by result of these reports the pictures of dragons that we see today vary greatly in appearance. They have been reported to have no legs, two legs, four legs or even more in European literature.
The origin of the word dragon goes back to about the 13th century and there are many root words that it may have stemmed from. The most common are "giant serpent" "giant seafish" and "to sea clearly". It has been suggested that the see clearly part was due to a dragon's large eyes. As you look at the history of dragons and the origins of the word or those words that described such a creature it is interesting to see the debates among scholars and scientists about the topic. You will hear those who study dinosaurs and perhaps who believe in evolution state that fossils of "dinosaurs" have been mistaken for "dragons" by people in the past. I have read it stated that such finds by ancient peoples were "mistakenly" identified as dragons. I find this hilarious since the root of both modern words is very similar. Dragon, drakon, draco all relate to serpents, reptiles or lizards of large stature. The word Dinosaur actually means "terrible lizard" and is a word that was created in the 1800s so it seems a bit silly to state that earlier finds were "mistakenly identified". With all the pictures of dragons that we have to gaze upon today it is easy to see a very close resemblance between dragons and dinosaurs.