Gila monster

Origin

Gila monster

noun
a large, venomous lizard, Heloderma suspectum, of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, covered with beadlike scales of yellow, orange, and black.

Origin:
1875–80, Americanism; after Gila
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Gila monster is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Gila monster (ˈhiːlə)
 
n
a large venomous brightly coloured lizard, Heloderma suspectum, inhabiting deserts of the southwestern US and Mexico and feeding mostly on eggs and small mammals: family Helodermatidae
 
[C19: after the Gila, a river in New Mexico and Arizona]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

gila monster
Heloderma suspectum, 1877, Amer.Eng., from Gila River, which runs through its habitat in Arizona.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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