sb. and a. Zool. [f. mod.L. Varan-us VARAN + -IAN.]
A. sb. A lizard belonging to the family Varanidæ of scaled saurians; a monitor or varan.
1841. Penny Cycl., XX. 460/2. The Varanians form a family of scaled Saurians, including the Monitors of the Old World.
1847. T. R. Jones, in Todd’s Cycl. Anat., IV. 288/1. In the Geckos, Agamians, and Varanians, the base of the tooth is imbedded in a shallow socket.
B. adj. Belonging to or characteristic of the varans or monitors.
1840. Owen, Odontogr., I. 263. The Varanian family of squamate Saurians … includes the Monitors of the old world.
1841. Penny Cycl., XX. 460/2. Allied in the form of the teeth to the typical Varanian Monitors.
