Plants & CreaturesGreek → English
Amphibian
/æmˈfɪbiən/noun
A cold-blooded vertebrate such as a frog or newt that begins life in water and breathes air as an adult.
The Greek roots
ἀμφί
amphí
both, on both sides
βίος
bíos
life
Literally: “living a double life”
The story of the word
Ἀμφίβιος in Greek described anything at home in two elements, and writers applied it to seals, otters and even soldiers who fought on land and sea. Linnaeus made it a formal class in 1758, though his Amphibia bundled in reptiles and some fish. The modern boundary, drawn round frogs, salamanders and caecilians, was settled in the nineteenth century.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Modern Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
amphitheatreamphorabiologyantibiotic
In a sentence
Every amphibian in the pond survey turned out to be the same common frog.