corytophanid

co·ry·to·phan·id
C3O1R1Y4T1O1P3H4A1N1I1D2
UK/ˌkɒɹɪtəʊˈfænɪd/US/ˌkɑɹɪtoʊˈfænɪd/

noun

Any lizard in the family Corytophanidae; a casquehead or helmeted lizard.

OriginAncient Greek κόρῠθος →
Scrabble 23
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Meanings

nouncorytophanid (plural corytophanids)

plural corytophanids

  1. herpetology (saurology)Any lizard in the family Corytophanidae; a casquehead or helmeted lizard.

    The species differs from other corytophanids by having a triangular-shaped head casque projecting posteriorly past the head.

    2004 October 30, Josiah H. Townsend, James R. McCranie, Larry David Wilson, “Corytophanes cristatus (Merrem): Smoothhead Helmeted Basilisk, Turipache Selvático”, in Andrew H. Price, editor, Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles, New York, N.Y.: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, →DOI, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2021, page 789.2, column 1

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκόρῠθος“helmet”
  2. Englishcorytophanid

From translingual Corytophanidae + -id. Corytophanidae is derived from Ancient Greek κόρῠθος (kórŭthos, “helmet”) + φᾰνερός (phănerós, “visible”) + -idae, referring to the lizard’s prominent helmet-like head crest.

More words from Ancient Greek

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

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Cite this entry
APA

corytophanid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corytophanid

MLA

“corytophanid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corytophanid. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “corytophanid,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corytophanid.

Source: corytophanid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.