/tee"id/ , n.
1. any of a large group of chiefly tropical New World lizards of the family Teiidae, as the racerunner, caiman lizard, or whiptail, characterized by large rectangular scales on the belly and a long tail.
adj.
2. belonging or pertaining to the Teiidae.
[ 1955-60; Teiidae, equiv. to Tei ( us ) genus name (
tejú lizard of the genus Tupinambis tejú, teyú ) + -idae -ID 2 ]