amphibian
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am·phib·i·an
(ăm-fĭb′ē-ən)n.
1. Any of various cold-blooded, usually smooth-skinned vertebrates of the class Amphibia, characteristically hatching as an aquatic larva with gills and then transforming into an adult having air-breathing lungs. Frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians are amphibians.
2. An animal capable of living both on land and in water.
3. An aircraft that can take off and land on either land or water.
4. 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 gwei- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
amphibian
(æmˈfɪbɪən)n
1. (Animals) any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Amphibia, typically living on land but breeding in water. Their aquatic larvae (tadpoles) undergo metamorphosis into the adult form. The class includes the newts and salamanders, frogs and toads, and caecilians
2. (Aeronautics) a type of aircraft able to land and take off from both water and land
3. (Automotive Engineering) any vehicle able to travel on both water and land
adj
4. (Zoology) another word for amphibious
5. (Zoology) of, relating to, or belonging to the class Amphibia
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
am•phib•i•an
(æmˈfɪb i ən)n.
1. any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Amphibia, including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians, usu. having an aquatic, gill-breathing tadpole stage and later developing lungs.
2. an airplane designed for taking off from and landing on both land and water.
3. a flat-bottomed military vehicle, equipped with both tracks and a rudder for traveling on land or in water.
adj. 4. belonging or pertaining to the class Amphibia.
5. amphibious.
[1630–40; < Latin amphibi(a), neuter pl. of amphibius amphibious + -an1]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
am·phib·i·an
(ăm-fĭb′ē-ən) A cold-blooded vertebrate animal having moist skin without scales. Most amphibians lay eggs in water, and their young breathe with gills but develop lungs and breathe air as adults. Amphibians include frogs, toads, and salamanders.
Word History Amphibians are not quite fish and not quite reptiles. Like fish, they spend part of their lives living in water and breathing with gills; like reptiles, they usually spend another part of their lives breathing air with lungs and able to live on land. This double life is also at the root of their name, amphibian, which, like many scientific words, comes from Greek. It is made up of the Greek prefix amphi-, meaning "both" or "double," and the Greek word bios, meaning "life." Both these elements are widely used in other scientific words in English: bios, for example, is also seen in words like biology, antibiotic, and symbiotic.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
See also related terms for reptile.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
amphibian
A small craft, propelled by propellers and wheels or by air cushions for the purpose of moving on both land and water.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  amphibian - a flat-bottomed motor vehicle that can travel on land or waterautomotive vehicle, motor vehicle - a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not run on rails marsh buggy, swamp buggy - an amphibious vehicle typically having four-wheel drive and a raised body |
| 2. |  amphibian - an airplane designed to take off and land on wateraeroplane, airplane, plane - an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets; "the flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane" pontoon - a float supporting a seaplane | |
| 3. |  amphibian - cold-blooded vertebrate typically living on land but breeding in water; aquatic larvae undergo metamorphosis into adult formcraniate, vertebrate - animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium amphibia, class Amphibia - the class of vertebrates that live on land but breed in water; frogs; toads; newts; salamanders; caecilians Hynerpeton bassetti - fossil amphibian of the Devonian having well-developed forelimbs; found in Pennsylvania Ichyostega - early tetrapod amphibian found in Greenland salamander - any of various typically terrestrial amphibians that resemble lizards and that return to water only to breed anuran, batrachian, frog, salientian, toad, toad frog - any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species caecilian, blindworm - any of the small slender limbless burrowing wormlike amphibians of the order Gymnophiona; inhabit moist soil in tropical regions labyrinthodont - an amphibian of the superorder Labyrinthodontia lateral line, lateral line organ - sense organs of fish and amphibians; believed to detect pressure changes in the water | |
| Adj. | 1. |  amphibian - relating to or characteristic of animals of the class Amphibia |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
amphibian
Amphibians
axolotl, bullfrog, caecilian, congo eel or snake, eft, frog or (Caribbean) crapaud, Goliath frog, hairy frog, hellbender, hyla, midwife toad, mud puppy, natterjack, newt or (dialect or archaic) eft, olm, pipa or Surinam toad, Queensland cane toad, salamander, siren, toad or (Caribbean) crapaud, tree frogCollins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
حَيَوان بَرْمائيطَائِرَة بَرْمائيةعَرَبَة بَرْمائية
obojživelníkobojživelný letounobojživelný vůz
amfibiedyramfibieflyamfibiekøretøjamfibiumpadde
sammakkoeläin
amfibijavodozemac
kétéltűkétéltû állatkétéltû jármûkétéltû repülõgép
flugbáturfroskdýrláîs- og lagardÿrsem ferîast/starfar á landi og í vatni
amfibijaamfibinisvarliagyvis
abinieksamfībija
obojživelné lietadloobojživelné vozidloobojživelník
dvoživka
kara-su uçağıyüzergezer araçyüzergezer hayvan
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
amphibian
n (= animal, plant) → Amphibie f; (= vehicle) → Amphibienfahrzeug nt; (= aircraft) → Amphibienflugzeug nt, → Wasser-Land-Flugzeug nt; amphibian tank → Amphibienpanzer m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
amphibian
(ӕmˈfibiən) noun1. a creature that spends part of its life on land and part in water. Frogs are amphibians.
2. a vehicle designed to move on land or in the water.
3. an aircraft designed to fly from land or water.
amˈphibious adjectiveKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.