salamander
/ˈsaləˌmandə
/noun
1A newt-like amphibian that typically has bright markings, once thought able to endure fire.
- Order Urodela: four families, in particular Salamandridae, and numerous species.
- The study finds 122 species of frogs, toads, salamanders and legless amphibians have probably become extinct since 1980 and warns that a third of all amphibian species currently face the same fate.
- Viable woodlands are just as critical as clean waters for frogs, toads, turtles, salamanders, newts, and many species of reptiles.
2A mythical lizard-like creature said to live in fire or to be able to withstand its effects.
2.1An elemental spirit living in fire.
3A metal plate heated and placed over food to brown it.Remove from oven and place under salamander until golden brown....
- Place gratineed stacks under a salamander or broiler until top is browned.
- Remove pork from cooking liquid, cut into cubes and heat under salamander or broiler until sizzling.
4 archaic A red-hot iron or poker.
Derivatives
salamandrian
salamandrine
- But the play really belongs to Marian Seldes, who floats, hovers, slithers, twists into salamandrine shapes, while enunciating with magnificent mellifluousness and perfect, usually hilarious timing.
- Hardy's dual diction choices, of ‘pyres’ and ‘salamandrine fires,’ conveys rapid, chaotic change that the Titanic undergoes from the fiery creation of the steel chambers to their destruction on the metaphorical pyres, their death and destruction at the hands of the sea.
salamandroid
sense 1.
Origin
Middle English (in sense 2): from Old French salamandre, via Latin from Greek salamandra. Sense 1 dates from the early 17th century.