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chameleon

The definition of a chameleon is a lizard that can change colors to match its surroundings, or a person who changes their personality depending on who they are with.

(noun)

A lizard that changes its colors regularly is an example of a chameleon.
A person who is a party-girl with some friends and who claims to look down on the party-lifestyle with other friends is an example of a chameleon.

See chameleon in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

any of various Old World lizards (family Chamaeleontidae) with an angular head, prehensile tail, eyes that move independently of each other, the ability to change skin color rapidly, and a long, agile tongue for catching prey
any of various superficially similar lizards that can change the color of their skin, as the American chameleon
a changeable or fickle person

Origin: ME camelioun < L chamaeleon < Gr chamaileōn < chamai, on the ground (akin to chthōn, earth: see homage) + leōn, lion

Related Forms:

chameleonic adjective

See chameleon in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

Any of various tropical Old World lizards of the family Chamaeleonidae, characterized by their ability to change color.
See anole.
A changeable or inconstant person: “In his testimony, the nominee came off as . . . a chameleon of legal philosophy” (Joseph A. Califano, Jr.)

Origin:

Origin: Middle English camelioun

Origin: , from Latin chamaeleōn

Origin: , from Greek khamaileōn

Origin: : khamai, on the ground; see dhghem- in Indo-European roots

Origin: + leōn, lion (loan translation of Akkadian nēš qaqqari, ground lion, lizard); see Lion

Related Forms:

cha·meˌle·onˈic (-lē-ŏnˈĭk) adjective

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 Akkadian phrase nēš qaqqari. The khamaimēlon is “an apple [mēlon] on the ground,” so named because the blossoms of at least one variety of this creeping herb have an applelike scent. Both words are first found in Middle English, chameleon in a work composed before 1382 and chamomile in a work written in 1373.

noun

Variant of Chamaeleon.

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