| 释义 |
gecko|ˈgɛkəʊ|
Forms: 8 (chacco, jackoa), gekko, 9 geco, gecko; pl. geckos, -oes.
[a. Mal. gēkoq (the q is faint) an imitation of the animal's cry.
The note uttered by this lizard is imitated in other Malay names, as gaguh, gōke, tōke, etc. and similar forms occur in the Indian languages, to which the earliest examples in English are due. The statement made in quot. 1792, that the name is current in Egypt, is due to the translator and is apparently a blunder.]
A house-lizard, found in the warmer regions of both hemispheres, remarkable for its peculiar cry, and for its power of climbing walls.
[1711C. Lockyer Acc. Trade Ind. iv. 84 Chaccos, as Cuckoos receive their Names from the Noise they make..they are much like Lizards but larger. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. xliv. 131 They have one dangerous little Animal called a Jackoa, in shape almost like a Lizard..he seldom fails of giving Notice where he is, by a loud noise called Jackoa.] 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. VII. 142 Of all animals the Gekko is the most notorious for its powers of mischief. 1792Heron tr. Niebuhr's Trav. Arab. II. 332 We saw several sorts of lizards, of which the only dangerous one was that called by the Egyptians Gecko. 1852Th. Ross Humboldt's Trav. II. xix. 199 All the stones were covered with an innumerable quantity of iguanas and geckos with spreading and membranous fingers. 1860All Year Round No. 37. 247 There are the friendly geckoes which, by help of padded toes, can run up walls like a fly, climb glass and cross the ceiling. 1883Harper's Mag. Jan. 189/1 The gecko, a lizard found along the Nile, has been observed to emit a brilliant light. |