/amˈfɪbɪən

noun

plural noun: amphibians

 

1. a cold-blooded vertebrate animal of a class that comprises the frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and caecilians. They are distinguished by having an aquatic gill-breathing larval stage followed (typically) by a terrestrial lung-breathing adult stage.

2. a seaplane, tank, or other vehicle that can operate on land and on water.

 

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Etymology

The word amphibian comes from the Greek word amphibios, which means "to live a double life." The noun amphibian has its roots in the words amphi, meaning "of both kinds," and bios, meaning "life." The word is used for the class of animals that spend part of their lives in water and part on land. The word can also be used as an adjective to describe the animals that live this way. You might be interested to know that the largest amphibian weighs about 140 pounds and the smallest weighs only a few grams.

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