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salamandrine

 - 3 dictionary results

sal⋅a⋅man⋅der

  [sal-uh-man-der]
Use salamandrine in a Sentence
–noun
1. any tailed amphibian of the order Caudata, having a soft, moist, scaleless skin, typically aquatic as a larva and semiterrestrial as an adult: several species are endangered.
2. a mythical being, esp. a lizard or other reptile, thought to be able to live in fire.
3. any of various portable stoves or burners.
4. Metallurgy. a mass of iron that accumulates at the bottom of a blast furnace as a result of the escape of molten metal through the hearth.
5. a metal plate or disk with a handle, heated and held over pastry, casserole crusts, etc., to brown or glaze it.
6. an oven usually heated from the top and bottom by gas, for cooking, browning, and glazing food.
Origin:
1300–50; ME salamandre < L salamandra < Gk salamándrā

Related forms:
sal⋅a⋅man⋅der⋅like, adjective
sal⋅a⋅man⋅drine  [sal-uh-man-drin] , adjective
sal⋅a⋅man⋅droid, adjective

Synonyms:
2. See sylph.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To salamandrine
sal·a·man·der   (sāl'ə-mān'dər)   
n.  

  1. Any of various small lizardlike amphibians of the order Caudata, having porous scaleless skin and four, often weak or rudimentary legs.

    1. A mythical creature, generally resembling a lizard, believed capable of living in or withstanding fire.

    2. In the occult philosophy of Paracelsus, a being having fire as its element.

  3. An object, such as a poker, used in fire or capable of withstanding heat.

  4. Metallurgy A mass of solidified material, largely metallic, left in a blast-furnace hearth.

  5. A portable stove used to heat or dry buildings under construction.


[Middle English salamandre, from Old French, from Latin salamandra, from Greek.]
sal'a·man'drine (-drĭn) adj.
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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Word Origin & History

salamander 
1340, "a legendary lizard-like creature that can live in fire," from O.Fr. salamandre (12c.), from L. salamandra, from Gk. salamandra, probably of eastern origin. The application to an actual amphibian is first recorded 1611. Aristotle, and especially Pliny, are responsible for the fiction of an animal that thrives in and extinguishes fires. The amphibian 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 Ger. student drinking toast (einem einen salamander reiben).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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