leguaan

English

From French l'iguane, "the iguana", through Dutch and Afrikaans.

leguaan (plural leguaans)

An iguana.
Any of the monitor lizards.
- 2001 : Finally, a help plea yesterday from Debbie Thompson of Gonubie -- what to do about a small leguaan that had taken up residence in her "somewhat wild" garden with big trees, dense shrubs and hedges? [1]
- 2006 : This is the view of Sazi Mhlongo, chair of the Traditional Healers's Association of SA (Thasa). It follows the recent court appearance of a sangoma and five others after police discovered the skins of various protected animals in the sangoma's house. The skins included that of a lion, leopard, puff adder and water leguaan. [2]

iguana — see iguana

any of the monitor lizards

Borrowed from Spanish iguana, with assimilation of the Spanish definite article (rebracketing of la iguana), from Taíno *iwana.

leguaan f (plural leguanen, diminutive leguaantje n)

an iguana; lizard of the family Iguanidae; historically also including members of the Iguania
Synonym: boomkip (Suriname)
- 2020 August 10, “Dierenactiviste: “Manier verkoop leguanen pure dierenmishandeling” [Animal rights activist: “Way of selling iguanas is pure animal abuse”]”, in Suriname Herald‎^[3], retrieved 12 November 2025:
  De leguaan, meer bekend als ‘boomkip’, vormt al decennialang een delicatesse voor mensen. Aan de overkant nabij de Jules Wijdenboschbrug en op andere locaties worden levende leguanen die vol eieren zitten, ten verkoop aangeboden. Hoe groter en voller de buik, des te duurder het dier.
  The iguana, better known as the ‘tree chicken’, has been a delicacy for humans for decades. Across the [river] near the Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge and at other locations, live iguanas full of eggs are offered for sale. The larger and fuller the belly, the more expensive the animal.