You searched for: “iguana”
iguana (s) (noun), iguanas (pl)
1. A large, tropical American lizard that has spiny crests along its back: "After seeing an iguana in a zoo, John went home and read about them in an encyclopedia which indicated that they live among trees, eat plants, and have pendulous or loose flesh under their necks, called 'dewlaps'."

"Some iguanas grow to a length of 6 feet and, unless they are attacked, they are considered to be harmless."

"The iguanas are one of the biggest families of lizards, with some 700 species."

—American Heritage Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary;
Houghton Mifflin Company; Boston; 1987; page 839.

2. Etymology: Spanish, from Carib and Arawak iwana; a member of the family Iguanidae.
An example of an iguana.
This entry is located in the following unit: English Words from Amerind (page 2)