The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Varanus \Va*ra"nus\, prop. n. [NL., fr. Ar. uaran, uaral; cf. F. varan, from the Arabic.] (Zool.) A genus of very large lizards native of Asia and Africa. It includes the monitors. See Monitor, 3. [1913 Webster]WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Varanus n 1: type and sole extant genus of the Varanidae [syn: Varanus, genus Varanus]