iguana

Where does the word "iguana" come from? It comes from Taíno iwana, passing through Spanish before entering English (1500s-1600s).

Iguana’s story begins in Taíno: iwana meant “iguana.” The Taíno name for the large lizard. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as iguana. Spanish chroniclers of Hispaniola described iguanas as a Taíno food. It reached English by 1500s-1600s as iguana. Richard Eden's 1555 English translation 'Decades of the New World' describes lizards 'named Iuannas'. Today, iguana means a large tropical lizard native to the Americas.

1. Stage 1 · Taíno · pre-1500s iwana "iguana", the Taíno name for the large lizard.
2. Stage 2 · Spanish · 1500s iguana "iguana", Spanish chroniclers of Hispaniola described iguanas as a Taíno food.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s-1600s iguana "the large tropical lizard", Richard Eden's 1555 English translation 'Decades of the New World' describes lizards 'named Iuannas'.