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a·ga·ma

(ə-gāmə, ăgə-)

An agamid lizard, especially one of the genus Agama.

[New Latin Agama, genus name, from agama, specific epithet in Lacerta agama, name of a lizard species established by Carl Linnaeus (perhaps conflating the Neotropical lizard Plica plica and an African species of the current genus Agama), ultimately of Gbe origin (compare Ewe àgàmà and Fon àgãmã, chameleon), perhaps via Sranan agama, large lizard, or Saramaccan (English- and Portuguese-based creole of Suriname and French Guiana) agama, chameleon.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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