amphibian

Pronunciation

• IPA: /æmˈfɪbɪən/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from New Latin Amphibia (1607), the name of the class,^[2][3] from Ancient Greek ἀμφίβια (amphíbia), neuter plural of ἀμφίβιος (amphíbios, “living a double life”),^[2][3][4] from ἀμφί (amphí, “on both sides, of both kinds”) (see amphi-) and βίος (bíos, “life”),^[2][4][5] with the suffix -an.^[3][6] The root is Proto-Indo-European *gʷei- (“to live”).^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, having two modes of existence, or of doubtful nature (1637 in the OED and Barnhart).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Zoologists formerly called any animal at home both on land and in water amphibious, including crocodiles, beavers, seals and hippopotamuses.^[4] The restriction to the class between fishes and reptiles, whose young live in water and adults on land, dates from 1835, the year the noun is first recorded.^[4][7][3][8] The adjective sense “of the Amphibia” followed in 1847.^[7] Figuratively an amphibian is a person with a double character (1902).^[7] From 1920 the word was applied to seaplanes, tanks and other vehicles that work on both land and water.^[7]

Timeline

• 1637 – adjective, having two modes of existence.^[7][3]
• 1835 – noun, a member of the Amphibia.^[7][3][8][4]
• 1847 – adjective, of the Amphibia.^[7]
• 1902 – a person of double character.^[7]
• 1920 – an aircraft or vehicle for land and water.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A cold-blooded, smooth-skinned vertebrate of the class Amphibia, such as a frog, toad, newt or salamander, which typically hatches as an aquatic larva with gills and becomes an air-breathing adult.
2. Any animal or plant able to live both on land and in water.
3. An aircraft that can take off from and land on either land or water.
4. A vehicle able to travel both on land and in water.

Adjective

1. Of or belonging to the Amphibia.
2. Amphibious.

Word family

• nonamphibian
• triphibian

Related words

• amphi-
• Amphibia
• amphibiotic
• amphibious
• bio-
• biology

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster