chamaeleon

See also: chameleon, Chamaeleon, Chamäleon, chamæleon, and chamæléon

English

Noun

chamaeleon (plural chamaeleons)

1. Alternative spelling of chameleon

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Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek χαμαιλέων (khamailéōn), from χαμαί (khamaí, “on the earth, on the ground”) + λέων (léōn, “lion”); ultimately a calque from Akkadian 𒌨𒈤𒊭𒆠 (nēšu ša qaqqari, “chameleon, reptile”, literally “lion of the ground", "predator that crawls upon the ground”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /kʰaˈmae̯.le.on/, [kʰaˈmae̯.ɫe.õ]

Noun

chamaeleon m (genitive chamaeleōnis); third declension

1. chameleon (lizard)

Inflection

The singular genitive is sometimes chamaeleōntis, with a corresonding change in other forms.

References

• chamaeleon in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• chamaeleon in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• chamaeleon in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• Critical and Philological Notes: Tablet XI, Note 314 in Andrew R. George (2003) The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts, Volume II, Oxford University Press, pages 896-897
• nēšu(m) in Black, Jeremy; George, Andrew; Postgate, Nicholas (1976) A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, page 251