lizard
Plurallizards
- 1A scaly reptile of the order Squamata, other than a snake, usually having a rounded body, a short neck with a raised head, four limbs, and a long tail, though some kinds are legless.
The lizard darted across the path and vanished under a stone.
Many desert lizards stay still during the hottest hours of the day.
Note
The name came into English from French and pushed a native word aside. The Old English word it displaced, āþexe, survives as modern English ask and askard. Ruskin's The Stones of Venice (1851) sets it beside the serpent as a mix of "beauty and horror."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The French-derived word displaced the native word descended from Old English āþexe, which survives as ask and askard. en.wiktionary.org
- John Ruskin wrote The Stones of Venice; its first volume, containing this passage, was first published in 1851. lancaster.ac.uk
- Ruskin places the serpent and lizard together and uses the exact words “beauty and horror” to describe their combined qualities. gutenberg.org
- 2The skin of a lizard, especially as prepared and used to make leather goods such as shoes, bags, and belts.
Her new clutch comes in glossy black lizard, finished with a gold clasp.
Genuine lizard fetches high prices among leather makers.
UsageWorks like leather or suede: lizard boots, made of lizard, genuine lizard.
Note
Most often it works as a modifier rather than a noun on its own: lizard boots, a lizard belt, lizard trim. Paul Simon's "Proof" (1990) shows the usual pattern with a mention of black boots made of it. The material word comes before the object, the way leather and suede do. When it stands alone, as in "genuine lizard," the finished skin is meant, not the animal.
- 3A person who idles away a lot of time in a particular place, used mainly in compounds such as lounge lizard.
The hotel bar attracted lounge lizards who nursed one drink for hours.
He had become a poolside lizard, lounging without purpose all summer.
UsageMildly disparaging or humorous in tone; avoid in neutral description.
Note
Lot lizard and truck stop lizard are different: they are offensive slang for a sex worker who solicits at truck stops, not words for an idler. The first element does the locating, and the lizard does the idling.
Less common meanings
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Middle English lesarde, from Anglo-Norman lusard and Old French lesard (compare French lézard), which came from Latin lacertus, a word of obscure origin. It replaced the native Old English word āþexe (source of the older English word ask/askard).
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- Lizard derives from Middle English lesarde, borrowed from Anglo-Norman lusard. en.wiktionary.org
- The Anglo-Norman form derives from Old French lesard. en.wiktionary.org
- French lézard shares the Old French ancestry, ultimately from Latin lacertus. en.wiktionary.org
- The earlier origin of Latin lacertus, the masculine variant of lacerta, is obscure. en.wiktionary.org
- Lizard displaced the native word descended from Old English āþexe. en.wiktionary.org
- English ask and askard descend from Old English āþexe. en.wiktionary.org