salamander

IPA/ˈsæləmændə(r)/
KK[sˌæləmˈændɚ]IPA/ˈsæləmændər/

salamander — 名詞

  • salamandersingular
  • salamandersplural

1. a small creature with a long body and smooth, damp skin that spends time in wet

1.名詞B1
釋義

蠑螈

像蜥蜴但皮膚濕軟的兩棲動物

a small creature with a long body and smooth, damp skin that spends time in wet places and on land, similar in shape to a lizard but having no scales

例句

A biology teacher showed her class a spotted salamander found beneath a wet log.

一位生物老師向全班展示她在潮濕木頭下發現的一隻斑點蠑螈。

adjective + salamander (spotted salamander)

Nora spotted a spotted salamander crawling across the wet garden path after sunset.

Nora 在日落後發現一隻斑點蠑螈爬過濕漉漉的花園小徑。

spotted salamander crawling across [surface]

同義詞
  • newt

    a type of salamander that spends most of its life in water; newts are a subgroup within the salamander family

文法句型

salamander + verb

adjective + salamander

用法筆記

Frequently used with a descriptive adjective before the word, such as spotted salamander, tiger salamander, or fire salamander, which refer to specific species. The plural form salamanders is common when discussing the animal group as a whole.

常見錯誤

❌A salamander has dry, scaly skin like a lizard.
✅A salamander has smooth, moist skin and no scales, unlike a lizard.
💡Lizards are reptiles with dry scales; salamanders are amphibians with soft, wet skin.

2. a kitchen appliance that uses a very hot overhead heating element to brown, melt

2.名詞C1
釋義

炙烤爐

餐廳用的上方高溫加熱設備

a kitchen appliance that uses a very hot overhead heating element to brown, melt, or cook the top surface of food, commonly found in restaurant kitchens

例句

The chef slid the cheese-covered pasta under the salamander to brown the top until bubbling.

主廚將鋪滿起司的義大利麵滑入炙烤爐下方，把表面烤到冒泡金黃。

prepositional pattern: under the salamander

A salamander reaches higher temperatures than an oven grill, so food cooks in seconds.

炙烤爐的溫度比一般烤箱的上火更高，因此食物幾秒鐘就能烤好。

同義詞
  • broiler

    a more general term for overhead cooking; a salamander is a specific type of high-heat broiler

  • overhead grill

    British English term for a similar appliance; a salamander operates at higher temperatures

文法句型

under the salamander

salamander + verb

用法筆記

Almost always singular in reference to the equipment (the salamander). In the food industry it is also called a salamander broiler or overhead grill. Not to be confused with a standard household broiler, which operates at lower temperatures.

常見錯誤

❌I put the fish in the salamander to bake it.
✅I put the fish under the salamander to brown the top.
💡A salamander heats from above only and is used for quick browning, not for baking through.

3. an imaginary animal from old stories that people thought could walk through flam

3.名詞C1
釋義

火蜥蜴

傳說中能活在火焰中的神秘生物

an imaginary animal from old stories that people thought could walk through flames and survive without getting burned

例句

Pliny the Elder wrote that the salamander could live in fire and put out flames with its body.

老普林尼寫道，火蜥蜴能在火焰中生存，並用身體熄滅烈火。

Pliny the Elder (Natural History) — earliest written record of the myth

Paracelsus, a Renaissance alchemist, called the salamander the elemental spirit that lives in fire.

文藝復興時期的煉金術士帕拉塞爾蘇斯稱火蜥蜴為居住在火焰中的元素精靈。

elemental spirit representing fire in folklore

同義詞
  • fire-drake

    a dragon-like mythical creature associated with fire, more poetic and less specific than salamander

  • fire elemental

    a broader term for any mythical spirit representing fire, of which the salamander is one example

文法句型

mythical salamander

salamander + of + fire

用法筆記

This mythological sense is the origin of the animal's name — the real amphibian was later named after the mythical creature because both were associated with fire in early beliefs. Often appears in fantasy literature and historical bestiaries.

常見錯誤

❌The salamander in my garden can survive fire.
✅Only in old stories could a salamander survive fire
💡real salamanders cannot live in flames.' — The fire-resistant property is a myth, not a scientific fact about the living animal.