- chameleon
- mid-14c., from O.Fr. chaméléon, from L. chamaeleon, from Gk. khamaileon, from khamai "on the ground" (also "dwarf"), akin to chthon "earth" + leon "lion." Figurative sense of "variable person" is 1580s. It was formerly supposed to live on air (cf. "Hamlet" III.ii.98).