gecko
/ˈɡɛk.oʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.91 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any lizard in the infraorder Gekkota.
Example Sentences
- "Order II. Sauria. […] The heart has two auricles. The body is covered with scales, and there are three or four feet. The lungs are large, and extend along the back. The mouth is armed with teeth, and the toes with claws. The tail is long, and often thick at the base. […] Geckotida—geco"
- "Leishmania infantum in Experimental Animals.—Experiments were carried out with geckoes, white mice, field mice (Microtus güntheri) and hamsters (Cricetus auratus and Cricetulus griseus)."
- "GECKOES constitute a family of lizards remarkable for the large number of species it contains. They are also remarkable for a number of other features: for the readiness with which they have taken to living in houses, for their voices, the structure of their feet, the variation in the shape of the tail and for their eyes. […] As with the more familiar lizards, geckoes have the ability to cast the tail, and counts show that in some species two out of every five individuals have cast the tail and regenerated a new one."
- "Family Gekkonidae (gekkos). In gekkos the skull is short and flat; the upper temporal bone arch is missing; the post-orbital and lacrimal bones are absent; and the jugal bone is very reduced."
- "Many lizards, including the British common and sand lizards of the family Lacertidae, clamber over rocks with great agility; none matches the geckoes, some of which can run up, down, or across vertical glass as easily as most beasts run on the flat, and indeed can happily traverse ceilings."
- "Other reptiles found in the district are the chamaeleon, geco and monitor lizard, the last getting extinct due to netting and shooting. It is now protected by law."
Etymology
The modern form was probably borrowed into English and other European languages from Dutch gekko (1718). Contemporary English forms were chacco (1711) and jackoa (1724). The further origin is not quite clear. Some sources mention a supposed Malay gekok, gekoq, or gekop, which would be imitative of the gecko’s chirping sound. Another theory derives it from Acehnese gèh-gòh (“busy”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡɛk.oʊ/
- British English: /ˈɡɛk.əʊ/