iguana Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun large herbivorous tropical American arboreal lizards with a spiny crest along the back; used as human food in Central America and South America
Iguana iguana; common iguana.

Sp. iguana, from the native name in Hayti. Cf. Guana.

(Zoöl.) Any species of the genus Iguana, a genus of large American lizards of the family Iguanidæ. They are arboreal in their habits, usually green in color, and feed chiefly upon fruits. ✍ The common iguana (I. tuberculata) of the West Indies and South America is sometimes five feet long. Its flesh is highly prized as food. The horned iguana (I. cornuta) has a conical horn between the eyes.