Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Lizard

1. (Science: zoology) Any one of the numerous species of reptiles belonging to the order Lacertilia; sometimes, also applied to reptiles of other orders, as the hatteria.

most lizards have an elongated body, with four legs, and a long tail; but there are some without legs, and some with a short, thick tail. Most have scales, but some are naked; most have eyelids, but some do not. The tongue is varied in form and structure. In some it is forked, in others, as the chameleons, club-shaped, and very extensible. See amphisbaena, Chameleon, gecko, gila monster, horned toad, iguana, and dragon.

2. A piece of rope with thimble or block spliced into one or both of the ends.

3. A piece of timber with a forked end, used in dragging a heavy stone, a log, or the like, from a field.

(Science: zoology) lizard fish, a kind of serpentine from near lizard point, Cornwall, England, used for ornamental purposes.

Origin: oe. Lesarde, OF. Lesarde, f. Lezard, L. Lacerta, lacertus. Cf. Alligator, lacerta.