What does salamander mean?

Definitions for salamander
ˈsæl əˌmæn dərsala·man·der

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word salamander.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. salamandernoun

    any of various typically terrestrial amphibians that resemble lizards and that return to water only to breed

  2. salamandernoun

    reptilian creature supposed to live in fire

  3. poker, stove poker, fire hook, salamandernoun

    fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire

Wiktionary

  1. salamandernoun

    A long slender (usually) terrestrial amphibian, resembling a lizard and newt; taxonomic order Urodela

  2. salamandernoun

    A creature much like a lizard that is resistant to and lives in fire, hence the elemental being of fire.

  3. salamandernoun

    A metal utensil with a flat head which is heated and put over a dish to brown the top.

    1977: The salamander, a fairly long metal utensil with a flat rounded head, was left in the fire until red hot and then used to brown the top of a dish without further cooking. uE000163839uE001 Richard Daunton-Fear and Penelope Vigar, Australian Colonial Cookery, Rigby, 1977, ISBN 0-7270-0187-6, page 41 (discussing 19th century cookery)

  4. salamandernoun

    In a professional kitchen a small broiler, used primarily for browning.

    The chef first put the steak under the salamander to sear the outside.

  5. salamanderverb

    To apply a salamander (flat iron utensil above) in a cooking process.

    19th C.: When cold, sprinkle the custard thickly with sugar and salamander it. uE000163840uE001 a 19th century cru00E8me bru00FBlu00E9e recipe quoted in Richard Daunton-Fear and Penelope Vigar, Australian Colonial Cookery, Rigby, 1977, ISBN 0-7270-0187-6, page 41

  6. Etymology: From Old French salamandre, from Latin salamandra, from σαλαμάνδρα, of origin.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. SALAMANDERnoun

    An animal supposed to live in the fire, and imagined to be very poisonous. Ambrose Parey has a picture of the salamander, with a receipt for her bite; but there is no such creature, the name being now given to a poor harmless insect.

    Etymology: salamandre, Fr. salamandra, Lat.

    The salamander liveth in the fire, and hath force also to extinguish it. Francis Bacon, Natural History.

    According to this hypothesis the whole lunar world is a torrid zone, and may be supposed uninhabitable, except they are salamanders which dwell therein. Joseph Glanvill, Sceps.

    Whereas it is commonly said that a salamander extinguisheth fire, we have found by experience, that on hot coals it dieth immediately. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.

    The artist was so encompassed with fire and smoke, that one would have thought nothing but a salamander could have been safe in such a situation. Joseph Addison, Guardian.

Wikipedia

  1. Salamander

    Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders rarely have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout their lives, some take to the water intermittently, and others are entirely terrestrial as adults. This group of amphibians is capable of regenerating lost limbs as well as other damaged parts of their bodies. Researchers hope to reverse engineer the regenerative processes for potential human medical applications, such as brain and spinal cord injury treatment or preventing harmful scarring during heart surgery recovery.Members of the family Salamandridae are mostly known as newts and lack the costal grooves along the sides of their bodies typical of other groups. The skin of some species contains the powerful poison tetrodotoxin; these salamanders tend to be slow-moving and have bright warning coloration to advertise their toxicity. Salamanders typically lay eggs in water and have aquatic larvae, but great variation occurs in their lifecycles. Some species in harsh environments reproduce while still in the larval state.

ChatGPT

  1. salamander

    A salamander is a type of amphibian characterized by its tail, short body, and four limbs typically of equal size. Salamanders are known for their unique ability to regenerate lost body parts, including limbs, tail, and even spinal cord. They range in size from about an inch long to nearly six feet and are found in a variety of natural environments such as forests, mountain regions, and aquatic habitats. Most salamanders have wet, smooth skin, and their lifespan varies greatly among species.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Salamandernoun

    any one of numerous species of Urodela, belonging to Salamandra, Amblystoma, Plethodon, and various allied genera, especially those that are more or less terrestrial in their habits

  2. Salamandernoun

    the pouched gopher (Geomys tuza) of the Southern United States

  3. Salamandernoun

    a culinary utensil of metal with a plate or disk which is heated, and held over pastry, etc., to brown it

  4. Salamandernoun

    a large poker

  5. Salamandernoun

    solidified material in a furnace hearth

  6. Etymology: [F. salamandre, L. salamandra, Gr. ; cf. Per. samander, samandel.]

Wikidata

  1. Salamander

    Salamanders are any of approximately 550 extant species of amphibians within the order Caudata. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossil salamanders and all extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant species are grouped together as the Urodela. Salamanders have never more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer. Their moist skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water, or under some protection, often in a wetland. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout life, some take to the water intermittently, and some are entirely terrestrial as adults. Unique among vertebrates, they are capable of regenerating lost limbs, as well as other body parts. Many of the members of the family Salamandridae are known as newts. The earliest known salamander fossils have been found in geological deposits of China and Kazakhstan, which have been dated to the middle Jurassic period, up to 164 million years ago.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Salamander

    sal′a-man-dėr, n. a genus of tailed Amphibians, nearly related to the newts, harmless, but long dreaded as poisonous, once supposed able to live in fire: (her.) a four-legged creature with a long tail surrounded by flames: a poker used red-hot for kindling fires: a hot metal plate for browning meat, &c.—adjs. Salaman′driform; Salaman′drine, like a salamander: enduring fire; Salaman′droid—also n. [Fr. salamandre—L.,—Gr. salamandra; of Eastern origin.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Salamander

    an elemental spirit conceived in the Middle Ages as an animal that lived in the fire as its proper element.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. salamander

    The heated iron formerly used for firing guns, especially in salutes, as it ensures regularity.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of salamander in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of salamander in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of salamander in a Sentence

  1. Samuel Turvey:

    Conservation plans must now be updated to recognize the existence of multiple giant salamander species, and movement of these animals should be prohibited to reduce the risk of disease transfer, competition and genetic hybridization.

  2. Samuel Turvey:

    The decline in wild Chinese giant salamander numbers has been catastrophic, mainly due to recent overexploitation for food, we hope that this new understanding of their species diversity has arrived in time to support their successful conservation, but urgent measures are required to protect any viable giant salamander populations that might remain.

  3. Professor Auke Ijspeert:

    It's a key animal from an evolutionary point of view, it's older than crocodiles and dinosaurs; it's an amphibian. So if you look at the modern salamander, its morphology and body shape is very close to the fossils of the first terrestrial vertebrates. So by studying the modern salamander we have a time window to the ancestors of all terrestrial vertebrates, including humans.

  4. Virginia Byers Kraus:

    We believe that an understanding of this' salamander-like' regenerative capacity in humans, and the critically missing components of this regulatory circuit, could provide the foundation for new approaches to repair joint tissues and possibly whole human limbs.

  5. Samuel Turvey:

    Our analysis reveals that Chinese giant salamander species diverged between 3.1 and 2.4 million years ago, these dates correspond to a period of mountain formation in South China as the Tibetan Plateau rose rapidly, which could have isolated giant salamander populations and led to the evolution of distinct species in different landscapes.

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"salamander." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/salamander>.

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