chameleon Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a changeable or inconstant person
  2. noun a faint constellation in the polar region of the southern hemisphere near Apus and Mensa
    Chamaeleon.
  3. noun lizard of Africa and Madagascar able to change skin color and having a projectile tongue
    chamaeleon.

WordNet

Cha*me"le*on noun
Etymology
L. Chamaeleon, Gr. , lit., "ground lion;" on the ground + lion. See Humble, and Lion.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A lizardlike reptile of the genus Chamæleo, of several species, found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The skin is covered with fine granmulations; the tail is prehensile, and the body is much compressed laterally, giving it a high back. ✍ 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 Iguanidæ. They are more slender in form than the true chameleons, but have the same power of changing their colors.

Webster 1913