chameleon

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Cha·me·leon

(kə-mēl′yən, -mē′lē-ən)

cha·me·leon

(kə-mēl′yən, -mē′lē-ən)

1. Any of various tropical lizards of the family Chamaeleonidae, chiefly of Africa and Madagascar, having a prehensile tail, eyes that can move independently, and the ability to change color.

2. An anole lizard, especially Anolis carolinensis of the southeast United States.

3. A changeable or inconstant person: "In his testimony, the nominee came off as ... a chameleon of legal philosophy" (Joseph A. Califano, Jr.).

[Middle English camelioun, from Latin chamaeleōn, from Greek khamaileōn : khamai, on the ground; see dhghem- in Indo-European roots + leōn, lion (translation of Akkadian nēš qaqqari, ground lion, lizard : Akkadian nēšu, lion + Akkadian qaqqari, genitive of qaqqaru, the earth, ground); see lion.]

cha·me′le·on′ic (-lē-ŏn′ĭk) adj.

Word History: The words referring to the animal chameleon and the plant chamomile are related etymologically by a reference to the place one would expect to find them, that is, on the ground. The first part of both words goes back to the Greek form khamai, meaning "on the ground." What is found on the ground in each case is quite different, of course. The khamaileōn is a "lion (leōn) on the ground," a term translating the phrase nēš qaqqari, "chameleon" in Akkadian, the Semitic language spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The khamaimēlon is "an apple (mēlon) on the ground," so named because the blossoms of at least one species of the plants called chamomile have an applelike scent. Chameleon and chamomile are also related etymologically to another earthly life form, one whose earthliness was contrasted with that of the gods. Greek khamai shares the same Indo-European root, *dhghem-, "earth," as the Latin words homō and hūmōnus, the source of English Homo sapiens and human.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

chameleon

(kəˈmiːlɪən)

1. (Animals) any lizard of the family Chamaeleontidae of Africa and Madagascar, having long slender legs, a prehensile tail and tongue, and the ability to change colour

2. a changeable or fickle person

[C14: from Latin chamaeleon, from Greek khamaileōn, from khamai on the ground + leōn lion]

chameleonic adj

chaˈmeleon-ˌlike adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cha•me•le•on

(kəˈmi li ən, -ˈmil yən)

n.

1. any Old World lizard of the family Chamaeleontidae, slow moving, with a projectile tongue and the ability to change color.

2. anole.

3. a changeable or fickle person.

[1300–50; Middle English camelion < Middle French < Latin chamaeleon < Greek chamailéōn=chamaí on the ground (akin to humus) + léōn lion]

cha•me`le•on′ic (-ˈɒn ɪk) adj.

cha•me′le•on•like`, adj.

cha·me·leon

(kə-mēl′yən)

1. Any of various small lizards of the Eastern Hemisphere, having the ability to change color rapidly to blend in with their surroundings and large eyes that move independently of each other.

2. Any of various small lizards of the Western Hemisphere that can also change their color.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	chameleon - a changeable or inconstant person individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do"
	2.	Chameleon - a faint constellation in the polar region of the southern hemisphere near Apus and Mensa Chamaeleon
	3.	chameleon - lizard of Africa and Madagascar able to change skin color and having a projectile tongue chamaeleon lizard - relatively long-bodied reptile with usually two pairs of legs and a tapering tail Chamaeleonidae, Chamaeleontidae, family Chamaeleonidae, family Chamaeleontidae, family Rhiptoglossa, Rhiptoglossa - Old World chameleons; in some classifications they are considered a superfamily of Sauria African chameleon, Chamaeleo chamaeleon - a chameleon found in Africa Chamaeleo oweni, horned chameleon - a kind of chameleon

Translations

حرباءحِرْباء

chameleon

kamæleon

kameleontti

kaméleon

kameljón

camaleonte

chameleonas

hameleons

kameleon

camaleão

хамелеон

chameleón

kameleon

bukalemun

变色蜥蜴变色龙

chameleon

[kəˈmiːlɪən] N → camaleón m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

chameleon

[kəˈmiːliən] n (= animal) → caméléon m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

chameleon

n (Zool, fig) → Chamäleon nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

chameleon

[kəˈmiːlɪən] n → camaleonte m

chameleon

(kəˈmiːliən) noun

a small lizard which is able to change colour.

References in classic literature ?

The pinched and meagre aspect of the place would have killed a chameleon. He would have known, at the first mouthful, that the air was not eatable, and must have given up the ghost in despair.

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As to the fauna, it might be counted by thousands of crustacea of all sorts, lobsters, crabs, spider-crabs, chameleon shrimps, and a large number of shells, rockfish, and limpets.

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The people who worked here followed the ancient custom of nature, whereby the ptarmigan is the color of dead leaves in the fall and of snow in the winter, and the chameleon, who is black when he lies upon a stump and turns green when he moves to a leaf.

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Solomon Pell, one of this learned body, was a fat, flabby, pale man, in a surtout which looked green one minute, and brown the next, with a velvet collar of the same chameleon tints.

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She was delicately, gracefully beautiful, with slender, oval face, red lips, a faint color in the cheeks, and blue eyes of the chameleon sort that at will stare wide with the innocence of childhood, go hard and gray and brilliantly cold, or flame up in hot wilfulness and mastery.

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For Horne Fisher was remarkable for a curious impersonal information and interest touching all sorts of topics, so that one could sometimes fancy that his culture, like his colorless, fair mustache and pale, drooping features, had the neutral nature of a chameleon. Anyhow, he could always get on with viceroys and Cabinet Ministers and all the great men responsible for great departments, and talk to each of them on his own subject, on the branch of study with which he was most seriously concerned.

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A small orange-colored reptile, of the lizard or chameleon species, chanced to be creeping along the path, just at the feet of Beatrice.

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The branches of the tree were literally covered with snakes and chameleons! The foliage actually was hidden beneath their coils, so that the beholder might have fancied that he saw before him a new kind of tree that bore reptiles for its leaves and fruit.

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M2 PRESSWIRE-August 30, 2019-: A larger-than-life 8 metre chameleon to brighten the East London skyline, marking the arrival of the first; UK nhow hotel - London's hottest new lifestyle property

A larger-than-life 8 metre chameleon to brighten the East London skyline, marking the arrival of the first; UK nhow hotel - London's hottest new lifestyle property

When browsing aroundyou come across many fascinating features including bright street art, cool restaurants, cockney accents - and soon, a giant chameleon.

Why a giant chameleon is landing in Shoreditch next week; Yeah, we're confused too

She settled on the name "Cardiff Chameleons" after noticing her pupils had adapted well to the water (despite the many sceptics) much like the chameleon that changes its colour to suit its surroundings.

Here's to you, Mrs Robinson..

Ontario, Canada-based Bannister Lake has augmented and enriched its Chameleon Twitter management tools, providing producers with "a highly advanced social media search solution that allows them to easily pinpoint relevant Twitter content and take it to air."