blue-belly
9.6
A small lizard with a blue belly often seen on rocks
- noun
- /bluːˈbɛli/
- US
:
lagarto de barriga azul
- The blue-belly quickly scurried away when I approached.
Examples
-
While hiking, we spotted a blue-belly darting between the logs.
-
Tell me, since those blue-bellies have overstayed their welcome here in New Orleans, how is it that you haven't gotten rid of them before now?" Steven
Fiction book (1991) -
I saw a blue-belly basking on a warm rock in the sun.
Synonyms
8.1
A common scaly reptile in western North America that basks on rocks and logs
emphasizes a distinctive bluish belly rather than naming the species
9.9
A common lizard in western North America that sits in the sun on rocks and logs
uses the everyday name and highlights the bluish belly
7.2
A small animal with scaly skin and a long tail that sits on fences or rocks in the US
refers specifically to a western form with a distinctive bluish belly
Surface Forms
blue-belly singular
blue-bellies plural
Morphology
Etymology
Blue-belly is a simple name made from blue ('the color blue') and belly ('the underside of the body'). It refers to the lizard because the animal shows a bright blue belly, so people call the western fence lizard a blue-belly when they see it.
