chamaeleon

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kʰaˈmae̯.ɫe.oːn]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kaˈmɛː.le.on]^[1]

Forms

chamaeleōn m (genitive chamaeleōnis or chamaeleontis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek χαμαιλέων (khamailéōn, “chameleon”), literally “ground lion”, from χαμαί (khamaí, “on the ground”) and λέων (léōn, “lion”).^[2][1][3] Wiktionary regards the Greek as a calque of Akkadian nēšu ša qaqqari (“lion of the ground”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Seneca the Younger compares the changing colours of clouds with chameleons.^[2] Köbler names Pliny the Elder as its first source and dates Seneca 4 BC–65 AD.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was the lizard that changes its colour, described by Pliny and Gellius.^[5][6] Isidore of Seville says it has no single colour but is sprinkled with many, like the leopard, and changes easily to the colours it sees.^[7]

It was also the name, often feminine, of two plants, a black and a white chamaeleon, identified with thistles, in Celsus and Pliny.^[2][8] Isidore gives its Latin name as viscarago because it produces birdlime.^[7] Medieval writers confused it with the badger and the ostrich and used it of thistles and teasels, and British sources of insects.^[9][10] English chameleon is recorded in the mid-14th century as camelion.^[3]

Timeline

• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca the Younger mentions chameleons.^[2][4]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of a plant.^[2][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes the lizard.^[5][4]
• mid-14th century – English camelion is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The chameleon.^[2][1]
2. A thistle-like plant, the carline thistle.^[2][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) The badger; an insect.^[9][10]

Related words

• English chameleon

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
8. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press