amphibian definition | Dictionary.com

am⋅phib⋅i⋅an

[am-fib-ee-uh

–noun

1.	any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Amphibia, comprising frogs and toads, newts and salamanders, and caecilians, the larvae being typically aquatic, breathing by gills, and the adults being typically semiterrestrial, breathing by lungs and through the moist, glandular skin.

2.	an amphibious plant.

3.	an airplane designed for taking off from and landing on both land and water.

4.	Also called amtrac. a flat-bottomed, armed, military vehicle, equipped with both tracks and a rudder, that can travel either on land or in water, used chiefly for landing assault troops.

–adjective

5.	belonging or pertaining to the Amphibia.

6.	amphibious (def. 2).

Origin:
1630–40; < L amphibi(a), neut. pl. of amphibius (adj.) (see amphibious ) + -an

am⋅phib⋅i⋅ous

[am-fib-ee-uh

–adjective

1.	living or able to live both on land and in water; belonging to both land and water.

2.	Also, amphibian. capable of operating on both land and water: amphibious vehicles.

3.	of or pertaining to military operations by both land and naval forces against the same object, esp. to a military attack by troops landed by naval ships.

4.	trained or organized to fight, or fighting, on both land and sea: amphibious troops.

5.	combining two qualities, kinds, traits, etc.; of or having a mixed or twofold nature.

Origin:
1635–45; < L amphibius < Gk amphíbios living a double life. See amphi-, bio-, -ous

Related forms:

am⋅phib⋅i⋅ous⋅ly, adverb

am⋅phib⋅i⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To amphibian

am·phib·i·an (ām-fĭb'ē-ən)

A cold-blooded, smooth-skinned vertebrate of the class Amphibia, such as a frog or salamander, that characteristically hatches as an aquatic larva with gills. The larva then transforms into an adult having air-breathing lungs.
An animal capable of living both on land and in water.
An aircraft that can take off and land on either land or water.
A tracked or wheeled vehicle that can operate both on land and in water.

[From New Latin Amphibia, class name, from Greek, neuter pl. of amphibios, amphibious : amphi-, amphi- + bios, life; see g^wei- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Amphibian

Am*phib"i*an\ (-an), a. (Zo["o]l.) Of or pertaining to the Amphibia; as, amphibian reptiles.

Amphibian

Am*phib"i*an\, n. (Zo["o]l.) One of the Amphibia.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : amphibian

Spanish: anfibio,

German: die Amphibie,

Japanese: 両生類

More Translations »

amphibian

1637, "having two modes of existence, of doubtful nature," from Gk. amphibia, neut. pl. of amphibios, from amphi- "of both kinds" + bios "life" (see bio-). Formerly used by zoologists to describe all sorts of combined natures (including otters and seals), the biological sense "class of animals between fishes and reptiles that live both on land and in water," and the noun derivative, first recorded 1835. Amphibia was used in this sense from 1609 and has been a zoological classification since c.1819. Amphibious with ref. to motorized vehicles dates from 1915.

amphibian (ām-fĭb'ē-ən) Pronunciation Key
A cold-blooded, smooth-skinned vertebrate of the class Amphibia. Amphibians hatch as aquatic larvae with gills and, in most species, then undergo metamorphosis into four-legged terrestrial adults with lungs for breathing air. The eggs of amphibians are fertilized externally and lack an amnion. Amphibians evolved from lobe-finned fish during the late Devonian Period and include frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and caecilians.

Our Living Language : Amphibians, not quite fish and not quite reptiles, were the first vertebrates to live on land. These cold-blooded animals spend their larval stage in water, breathing through their gills. In adulthood they usually live on land, using their lungs to breath air. This double life is also at the root of their name, amphibian, which, like many scientific words, derives from Greek. The Greek prefix amphi- means "both," or "double," and the Greek word bios means "life." Both these elements are widely used in English scientific terminology: bios, for example, is seen in such words as biology, antibiotic, and symbiotic.

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