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Glite Dictionary
night lizard

night lizard

8.8
A small lizard that hides during the day and gives birth to live young
  • noun
  • /naɪt ˈlɪzərd/
  • US
translation icon : lagartija nocturna
  • The night lizard hides under rocks during the day and emerges at dusk to hunt insects.
  • island night lizard

Examples

  • Unlike most lizards, the night lizard gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs.

  • The night lizard is mainly found in the deserts of southwestern North America, where it thrives at night.

  • Some species of night lizard are found only in isolated parts of California.

  • The night lizard is rarely seen during the day.

  • Look! A night lizard just crossed the path!

  • The island night lizard is known for its unique ability to camouflage itself in the dark.

  • Many researchers study the night lizard due to its elusive nature and nocturnal habits.

Synonyms

Xantusiidae
vsnight lizard
  • Specialized
9.9

A family of small shy lizards from the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America

is a specific nocturnal lizard also in Cuba that gives birth to live young

Surface Forms

night lizard singular
night lizards plural

Morphology

night + lizard

The meaning is directly built from 'night' (time-of-day) modifying 'lizard', so the compound straightforwardly denotes a lizard active at night (i.e. nocturnal). This noun + noun modifier pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows regular compositional rules, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Night lizard comes from the simple picture of a lizard that is most active at night, hiding under rocks by day and coming out in the evening to hunt insects. So the name means a small, secret lizard that is 'active at night' and often 'gives birth to live young'.