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more about chameleon
chameleon |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Chameleon \Cha*me"le*on\ (k[.a]*m[=e]"l[-e]*[u^]n), n. [L. Chamaeleon, Gr chamaile`wn, lit., ``ground lion;'' chamai` on the ground + le`wn lion. See {Humble}, and {Lion}.] (Zo["o]l.) A lizardlike reptile of the genus {Cham[ae]leo}, of several species, found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The skin is covered with fine granulations; the tail is prehensile, and the body is much compressed laterally, giving it a high back Note: Its color changes more or less with the color of the objects about it or with its temper when disturbed. In a cool, dark place it is nearly white, or grayish; on admitting the light, it changes to brown, bottle-green, or blood red, of various shades, and more or less mottled in arrangment. The American chameleons belong to {Anolis} and allied genera of the family {Iguanid[ae]}. They are more slender in form than the true chameleons, but have the same power of changing their colors. {Chameleon mineral} (Chem.), the compound called {potassium permanganate}, a dark violet, crystalline substance, {KMnO4}, which in formation passes through a peculiar succession of color from green to blue, purple, red, etc See {Potassium permanganate}, under {Potassium}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: chameleon n : lizard of Africa and Madagascar able to change skin color and having a projectile tongue [syn: {chamaeleon}] From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Chameleon a species of lizard which has the faculty of changing the colour of its skin. It is ranked among the unclean animals in Lev. 11:30, where the Hebrew word so translated is _coah_ (R.V., "land crocodile"). In the same verse the Hebrew _tanshemeth_, rendered in Authorized Version "mole," is in Revised Version "chameleon," which is the correct rendering. This animal is very common in Egypt and in the Holy Land, especially in the Jordan valley.
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