Category:Lizard

Liz"ard, n. Etym: [OE. lesarde, OF. lesarde, F. lézard, L. lacerta, lacertus. Cf. Alligator, Lacerta.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of the numerous species of reptiles belonging to the order Lacertilia; sometimes, also applied to reptiles of other orders, as the Hatteria.

Note: 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 Amphisbæna, Chameleon, Gecko, Gila monster, Horned toad, Iguana, and Dragon, 6.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: A piece of rope with thimble or block spliced into one or both of the ends. R. H. Dana, Ir.

3. A piece of timber with a forked end, used in dragging a heavy stone, a log, or the like, from a field. Lizard fish (Zoöl.), a marine scopeloid fish of the genus Synodus, or Saurus, esp. S. foetens of the Southern United States and West Indies; -- called also sand pike. -- Lizard snake (Zoöl.), the garter snake (Eutænia sirtalis). -- Lizard stone (Min.), a kind of serpentine from near Lizard Point, Cornwall, England, -- used for ornamental purposes.

-

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Lizard - Only in Leviticus 11:30, as rendering of Hebrew letaah, so called from its "hiding." Supposed to be the Lacerta gecko or fan-foot lizard, from the toes of which poison exudes. (See [[:Category:Chameleon|CHAMELEON.)