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Synonyms for salamander

Grammar : Noun
Spell : sal-uh-man-der
Phonetic Transcription : ˈsæl əˌmæn dər

Définition of salamander

Origin :
  • mid-14c., "legendary lizard-like creature that can live in fire," from Old French salamandre "legendary fiery beast," also "cricket" (12c.), from Latin salamandra, from Greek salamandra, probably of eastern origin.
  • The application in zoology to a tailed amphibian (known natively as an eft or newt) is first recorded 1610s. Aristotle, and especially Pliny, are responsible for the fiction of an animal that thrives in and extinguishes fires. The eft lives in damp logs and secretes a milky substance when threatened, but there is no obvious natural explanation its connection with the myth.
  • Also used 18c. for "a woman who lives chastely in the midst of temptations" (after Addison), and "a soldier who exposes himself to fire in battle." To rub someone a salamander was a 19c. form of German student drinking toast (einem einen salamander reiben). Related: Salamandrine; salamandroid.
  • As in amphibian : noun cold-blooded vertebrate
Example sentences :
  • Put crumbs of bread over it, and brown it with a salamander.
  • Extract from : « The Lady's Own Cookery Book, and New Dinner-Table Directory; » by Charlotte Campbell Bury
  • They may either be served up in this state, or in scallops, or put on the dish in a form, and the top browned with a salamander.
  • Extract from : « The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, » by Mary Eaton
  • In the course of years one should become a sort of salamander.
  • Extract from : « The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley » by Louis Tracy
  • "You ought to have been a salamander," she laughed, washing his back.
  • Extract from : « Sons and Lovers » by David Herbert Lawrence
  • “It be de French for supper,” said Salamander, who overheard the question.
  • Extract from : « The Big Otter » by R.M. Ballantyne
  • Salamander was young; he did not yet know that it is possible to over-act.
  • Extract from : « The Big Otter » by R.M. Ballantyne
  • Dougall leaped up with a cry that almost equalled that of Salamander.
  • Extract from : « The Big Otter » by R.M. Ballantyne
  • Tell him, Salamander, that I will do so by going to see them.
  • Extract from : « The Big Otter » by R.M. Ballantyne
  • Salamander was in one of the canoes which ran alongside of the wharf.
  • Extract from : « The Big Otter » by R.M. Ballantyne
  • Even Salamander forgot his jealousy and almost collapsed with wonder.
  • Extract from : « The Big Otter » by R.M. Ballantyne

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019