any of several brilliantly colored salamanders of the family Salamandridae, esp. those of the genera Triturus and Notophthalmus, of North America, Europe, and northern Asia.
2.
any of various other small salamanders.
Origin: 1375–1425; late ME newte, for ewte (the phrase an ewte being taken as a newte;cf. nickname), var. of evet, OE efeteeft1
newt (nōōt, nyōōt) n. Any of several small, slender, often brightly colored salamanders of the European genus Triturus or the North American genera Notophthalmus and Taricha, living chiefly on land but becoming aquatic during the breeding season.
[Middle English neute, from a neute, alteration of an eute, variant of evete, from Old English efete.]
n. a stupid person; a dull and uninteresting person. : Don't act like such a newt.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History
newt
c.1420, misdivision of an ewte, from M.E. evete (see eft).
[noot, nyoot] 
