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goanna

[goh-an-uh]
noun
  1. any of the several large monitor lizards of the family Varanidae, of Australia, especially Varanus varius and V. giganteus, both sometimes growing to 6 feet (1.8 meters).
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Origin of goanna

First recorded in 1795–1805; aphetic form of iguana
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for goanna

Historical Examples

  • The monitor is popularly known as the goanna, a name derived from the iguana, an entirely different animal.

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 8

    Various

British Dictionary definitions for goanna

goanna

noun
  1. any of various Australian monitor lizards
  2. Australian slang a piano
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Word Origin

C19: sense 1 changed from iguana; sense 2 from rhyming slang pianna
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012