# All dialects: lizard, gecko



## Hemza

Hello,

How do you call lizard and gecko in other dialects?

In Morocco, we call them respectively وزغة and بو بريص. There may be other names but these are the ones I know.

Thank you


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## ayed

In Badawi Najdi dialect, we call it ضعراط


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## tounsi51

In Tunisia, same as Morocco وزغة  but for gecko, I am not sure, maybe زرزومية


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## I.K.S.

no, زرزومية is the species we find in arid and semi-arid lands, aka Sandfish.


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## tounsi51

I think in Algeria it is the common name for lizard, not a particular type. In Tunisia, I don't know the difference between وزغة  and زرزومية


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## barkoosh

In Lebanon, سِقّاية for "lizard", بو بريص for "gecko".


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## Hemza

Thank you all. Of course, more replies are welcomed .



ayed said:


> In Badawi Najdi dialect, we call it ضعراط



Is it the same word for both animals?



إتحادية قبائل الشاوية said:


> no, زرزومية is the species we find in arid and semi-arid lands, aka Sandfish.



Does this word exist in Morocco too? I never heard it, it sounds funny


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## ayed

Hemza said:


> Is it the same word for both animals?


No, only to mean " a gecko"


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## echahmed

I'm from Morocco, in "Fquih Ben Salah" we call it:"رضاعة البقرات" hhhh ^^the cow's breastfeeding
in Arabic something like "سحلية"


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## Mahaodeh

In Palestinian Arabic as well as Iraqi Arabic it's أبو بريص



echahmed said:


> in Arabic something like "سحلية"



That is generic for lizard, of which a gecko is one type.


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## djara

tounsi51 said:


> In Tunisia, I don't know the difference between وزغة and زرزومية


وزغة is the one that prefers dry places (rocks, walls, roofs, etc.) ; its skin is quite rough. زرزومية is the one that lives in the ground, preferably in cool, damp places; its skin is very smooth and has scales likes snakes.


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## I.K.S.

Hemza said:


> Does this word exist in Morocco too? I never heard it, it sounds funny


Yes, It Looks like this.


tounsi51 said:


> I think in Algeria it is the common name for lizard, not a particular type. In Tunisia, I don't know the difference between وزغة and زرزومية


If I'm not mistaken Algerians call it شرشمان, That being said, I have been led to believe we are prone to undergo a considerable surfeit of vagueness whenever the occasion of identifying certain Animal subfamilies arises, Our classification is based on everyday knowledge not scientific one, which is more likely to shit over time, Let alone the regional varieties factor.


echahmed said:


> I'm from Morocco, in "Fquih Ben Salah" we call it:"رضاعة البقرات"


Welcome to the Forums, رضاعة البقر differs from وزغة and بو بريص


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## Hemza

إتحادية قبائل الشاوية said:


> Yes, It Looks like this.



I know the animal (called "poisson des sables" in French) but I ignored until now its name in the Maghreb.


> Welcome to the Forums, رضاعة البقر differs from وزغة and بو بريص



What is it then? A varan? Is the name linked to some belief that the animal sucks cows' milk or something like this?


Mahaodeh said:


> In Palestinian Arabic as well as Iraqi Arabic it's أبو بريص



The same word for both? It seems different from Lebanese then. Thank you


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## I.K.S.

Hemza said:


> What is it then? A varan? Is the name linked to some belief that the animal sucks cows' milk or something like this?


I'm not a Herpetologist but I may liken it to a common skink.
Exactly, a Cross-cultural folk belief shared between most of the Mediterranean basin countries, some Bedouins in the Arab peninsula still kill The desert monitors believing they would attack the udders of their cattle, In Palestine they have رضاع الماعز instead, But they use it for Sandfish or Scincus scincus.
I'm working on a comparative study about this subject between the Arab countries, I'll send you a PDF copy once it is completed.


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## Mahaodeh

Hemza said:


> The same word for both? It seems different from Lebanese then. Thank you



Not really! Maybe you missed this post?



barkoosh said:


> In Lebanon, سِقّاية for "lizard", بو بريص for "gecko".



The different word is the generic word for lizard, where both use سحلية but for gecko its pretty much the same word.


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## tounsi51

djara said:


> وزغة is the one that prefers dry places (rocks, walls, roofs, etc.) ; its skin is quite rough. زرزومية is the one that lives in the ground, preferably in cool, damp places; its skin is very smooth and has scales likes snakes.



The word بوكشاش has also the meaning of gecko in southern Tunisia


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