salamander

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a long-bodied amphibian with a tail and short legs, superficially resembling a lizard

   A spotted salamander emerged from beneath the damp log.

2. 2
   noun

   in legend, a lizard-like creature believed able to live in or withstand fire

   The old emblem showed a salamander standing unharmed among the flames.

3. 3
   noun

   a metal implement heated in a fire and used for warming, cooking, or browning

   The cook heated the iron salamander before browning the surface of the dish.

From Middle English salamandre, through Anglo-Norman and Latin from Greek salamandra, a word of uncertain origin. Ancient and medieval legend credited salamanders with surviving or extinguishing fire, which produced the mythical sense; the zoological name was transferred to the real amphibian.

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