SALAMANDER

salamander

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

poker, stove poker, fire hook, salamander

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

salamander

(noun) reptilian creature supposed to live in fire

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

salamander (plural salamanders)

A long, slender, chiefly terrestrial amphibian of the order Caudata, superficially resembling a lizard.

(mythology) A creature much like a lizard that is resistant to and lives in fire (in which it is often depicted in heraldry), hence the elemental being of fire.

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

(cooking) A small broiler (North America) or grill (Britain), used in professional cookery primarily for browning.

The pouched gopher, Geomys tuza, of the southern United States.

(UK, obsolete) A large poker.

(metallurgy) Solidified material in a furnace hearth.

Hyponyms

• newt

• eft

• (amphibian): siredon

• ask (dialectal)

Verb

salamander (third-person singular simple present salamanders, present participle salamandering, simple past and past participle salamandered)

To use a salamander (cooking utensil) in a cooking process.

Source: Wiktionary


Sal"a*man`der, n. Etym: [F. salamandre, L. salamandra, Gr. samander, samandel.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: 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.

Note: The salamanders have, like lizards, an elongated body, four feet, and a long tail, but are destitute of scales. They are true Amphibia, related to the frogs. Formerly, it was a superstition that the salamander could live in fire without harm, and even extinguish it by the natural coldness of its body. I have maintained that salamander of yours with fire any time this two and thirty years. Shak. Whereas it is commonly said that a salamander extinguisheth fire, we have found by experience that on hot coals, it dieth immediately. Sir T. Browne.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The pouched gopher (Geomys tuza) of the Southern United States.

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

4. A large poker. [prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

5. (Metal.)

Definition: Solidofied material in a furnace hearth. Giant salamander. (Zoöl.) See under Giant.

– Salamander's hair or wool (Min.), a species of asbestus or mineral flax. [Obs.] Bacon.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 December 2024

SUNGLASSES

(noun) (plural) spectacles that are darkened or polarized to protect the eyes from the glare of the sun; “he was wearing a pair of mirrored shades”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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