An archaic or variant spelling of chameleon, a lizard known for changing its skin color to match its surroundings.
From Latin chamaeleon, from Greek chamaileon (literally 'ground lion'), combining chamai (on the ground) and leon (lion). The spelling shifted through various medieval forms including camelion.
The ancient Greeks called this little creature 'ground lion' because they thought its crawling style resembled a lion's hunting crouch—a hilariously wrong guess about why its name contains 'lion'!
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