chameleon

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Cape dwarf chameleon

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English camelion, from Old French cameleon, from Latin chamaeleon, 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). The spelling was re-latinized in the early 18th century. The physics sense was coined by Justin Khoury and Amanda Weltman in 2003 in a paper in Physical Review Letters.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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chameleon (plural chameleons)

  1. A small to mid-size reptile, of the family Chamaeleonidae, and one of the best known lizard families able to change color and project its long tongue.
    • 1998, “Corridor of Chameleons”, performed by Meshuggah:
      A contagious neuro-ego-disease. A virus sticking to liars.
      We're the self-centered fuel to boost the new strain of fire.
      Adapting, shifting, lacking opinion. Our numbers exceeding the billions.
      Everly walking among ourselves down the corridor of chameleons.
  2. (figurative) A person with inconstant behavior; one able to quickly adjust to new circumstances.
    Synonym: Zelig
  3. (physics) A hypothetical scalar particle with a non-linear self-interaction, giving it an effective mass that depends on its environment: the presence of other fields.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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chameleon (not comparable)

  1. Describing something that changes color.
    The wall was covered with a chameleon paint.

References

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  1. ^ chameleon”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  2. ^ chameleon”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  3. ^ chameleon” (US) / “chameleon” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.

Further reading

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Czech

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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chameleon m anim

  1. chameleon

Declension

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