fence lizard
- noun
- /fɛns ˈlɪzərd/
- US
:
lagarto de cerca
- My son enjoys observing the fence lizard that often sunbathes on the fence near our garden.
Examples
-
While hiking, I spotted a fence lizard basking under the warm sun on a wooden post.
-
Fence lizards and skinks were running around and climbing trees.
Academic text (1995) -
It, too, was a monument to wild nature, but on the scale of grasshoppers and fence lizards.
Fiction book (1993) -
I tossed a pebble at a fence lizard basking under a clump of bittergrass and watched it scuttle indignantly away.
Fiction book (1998) -
The fence lizard quickly darted across the path as we walked through the dry grass.
Synonyms
A small active lizard from eastern North America that often sits in the sun on fences or rocks
A small active lizard found in the eastern United States and southern Canada that sits in the sun
A common scaly reptile in western North America that basks on rocks and logs
A common lizard in western North America that sits in the sun on rocks and logs
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'fence lizard' is directly interpretable as a lizard associated with or found on fences, so its meaning is the literal combination of 'fence' + 'lizard'. This straightforward noun-noun compounding is a common, compositional pattern across languages and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Fence lizard comes from the simple picture of a lizard sitting on a fence to warm in the sun, so the name means 'a lizard often found on fences'.
