amphisbaena

noun /æmfɪsˈbiːnə/

1. A mythical serpent having a head at each end of its body, able to move in either direction.

   1971: What do you call that animal that goes backward and forward, head at each end? —'Amphisbaena'. A kind of lizard. It doesn't exist. — Anthony Burgess, M/F (Penguin 2004, p. 109)

Where it comes from

From Latin amphisbaena, from Ancient Greek ἀμφίσβαινα (amphísbaina, from ἀμφίς (amphís, “both ways”) + βαίνω (baínō, “to go”)).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry amphisbaena (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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