chameleon (English)

Where does "chameleon" come from?

The English word chameleon comes from Middle English 'camelion'[1] and Old French 'cameleon'[1], which derived from Latin 'chamaeleon'[1]. This traces back to Ancient Greek 'χαμαιλέων'[1], combining 'χαμαί'[1], meaning 'on the earth, on the ground'[1], with 'λέων'[1], meaning 'lion'[1]. This Ancient Greek term was ultimately a calque of the Akkadian phrase 'nēšu ša qaqqari', literally meaning 'lion of the ground'[1]. The spelling was later re-Latinized in the early 18th century[1], and the modern physics sense was coined by Justin Khoury and Amanda Weltman in 2003[1].

Open questions

It remains unclear how ancient words for lion are related and the exact direction of borrowing among them. [4]

Full etymology tree

chameleon (English), 'A small to mid-size reptile, of the family Chamaeleonidae, and one of the best known lizard families able to change color and project its long tongue.'
- inherited camelion (Middle English)
  - borrowed cameleon (Old French)
    - borrowed chamaeleon (Latin), 'chameleon (a kind of lizard)'
      - borrowed χαμαιλέων (khamailéōn) (Ancient Greek), 'chameleon'
        calque 𒌨𒈤𒊭𒆠 (nēšu ša qaqqari) (Akkadian)
        compound χαμαί (khamaí) (Ancient Greek), 'on the earth, near the ground'
        derived *dʰéǵʰōm (Proto-Indo-European), 'earth'
        affix *dʰeǵʰ- (Proto-Indo-European)
        suffix *-ōm (Proto-Indo-European)
        compound λέων (léōn) (Ancient Greek), 'lion'

Ancestors

chamaeleon (Latin)
χαμαιλέων (Ancient Greek)

Descendants and derived words

American chameleon (English)
chameleonic (English)
chameleonize (English)
chameleon-like (English)
chameleonlike (English)
chameleon mineral (English)
chameleon plant (English)
chameleon schema (English)
chameleon vine (English)
Elandsberg dwarf chameleon (English)
Fischer's chameleon (English)
Jackson's chameleon (English)

Related words

Sources

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris