TERMIUM Plus®

From: Translation Bureau

On social media

Consult the Government of Canada’s terminology data bank.

GOANNA [1 record]

Record 1 2018-03-08

English

Subject field(s)
  • Reptiles and Amphibians
DEF

Any of various large tropical Old World pleurodont lizards closely related to iguanas and constituting the genus Varanus and the family Varanidae and including an African lizard (V. niloticus) that destroys crocodile eggs.

OBS

So called [from] the belief that such lizards give warning of the presence of crocodiles.

CONT

The monitors are widely distributed in the warmer regions of the Old World, being found in southern Asia, Africa(where they are called leguaans), the East Indies, and Australia(where they are called goannas). Leguaan, goanna, and guana are regional corruptions of iguana, mistakenly applied by European settlers to the monitor.

Key term(s)
  • leguaan
  • goanna
  • guana

French

Domaine(s)
  • Reptiles et amphibiens
CONT

La famille des Varanidés est très homogène et ne comprend qu'un seul genre, Varanus. [...] actuellement, on ne trouve plus de Varans qu'en Afrique, dans le sud de l'Asie, en Indonésie et surtout en Australie.

CONT

On reconnaît aisément les Varans à leur cou mobile, à leurs griffes et à leurs dents acérées [...] Le géant de la famille est le Varan de Komodo [...] D'autres espèces sont arboricoles ou même amphibies, comme Varanus niloticus, qui se nourrit en particulier des œufs de Crocodile [...]

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Reptiles y anfibios
CONT

En más de una ocasión hemos visto un goana (un gran lagarto) de Kangooro Island intentando comerse uno [equidna].

Save record 1

Copyright notice for the TERMIUM Plus® data bank

© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2026
TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank
A product of the Translation Bureau

Features

GCtranslate (available on the Government of Canada network only)

Use this artificial intelligence prototype to translate Government of Canada content up to and including Protected B. Available to employees of selected departments and agencies only.

Writing tools

The Language Portal’s writing tools have a new look! Easy to consult, they give you access to a wealth of information that will help you write better in English and French.

Glossaries and vocabularies

Access Translation Bureau glossaries and vocabularies.

Date Modified: