newt

[noot, nyoot]
noun
1.
any of several brilliantly colored salamanders of the family Salamandridae, especially 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 Middle English newte, for ewte (the phrase an ewte being taken as a newte; cf. nickname), variant of evet, Old English efete eft1

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World English Dictionary
newt (njuːt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  any of various small semiaquatic urodele amphibians, such as Triturus vulgaris (common newt) of Europe, having a long slender body and tail and short feeble legs
2.  chiefly (Brit) any other urodele amphibian, including the salamanders
 
[C15: from a newt, a mistaken division of an ewt; ewt, from Old English evetaeft1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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00:10
Newt is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

newt
c.1420, misdivision of an ewte, from M.E. evete (see eft).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

newt definition


  1. 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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Example sentences
The central newt is a unique critter with three different phases.
Among others at risk: wild ginseng, orchids and the crocodile newt.
Five were identical to sequences in chicken collagen, while frog and newt collagen tied for the next closest matches.
The newt changes shape as it grows, and the adult newt doesn't have these feathery gills.
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