salamander

Etymology

From Middle English salamandre, from Anglo-Norman salamandre, from Latin salamandra, from Ancient Greek σαλαμάνδρα (salamándra), of uncertain origin (per Beekes, likely Pre-Greek); possibly of Iranian origin, see Persian سمندر (samandar) for more information.

noun

1. A long, slender, chiefly terrestrial amphibian of the order Caudata, superficially resembling a lizard.
   […]and most plainly Pierius, whose words in his hieroglyphicks are these: "Whereas it is commonly said that a salamander extinguisheth fire, we have found by experience that it is so far from quenching hot coals, that it dyeth immediately therein." 1672, Thomas Browne, “Pseudodoxia Epidemica”, in Simon Wilkin, editor, The Works of Sir Thomas Browne, volume 1, published 1852, page 292
   Devils Lake is where I began my career as a limnologist in 1964, studying the lake’s neotenic salamanders and chironomids, or midge flies. […] The Devils Lake Basin is an endorheic, or closed, basin covering about 9,800 square kilometers in northeastern North Dakota. 2012-01, Douglas Larson, “Runaway Devils Lake”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 2012-05-23, page 46
2. (mythology) A creature much like a lizard that is resistant to and lives in fire (in which it is often depicted in heraldry), hence the elemental being of fire.
   “Not a chance, Ranger,” Bob Mason was speaking. “This little cuss is a salamander. He's been travelling through fire all day and there isn't a blister on him. …” 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter XI, in The Understanding Heart
   "There is a vulgar error," says the author of the Brief Natural History, p. 91, "that a salamander lives in the fire. Yet both Galen and Dioscorides refute this opinion; and Mathiolus, in his Commentaries upon Dioscorides, a very famous physician, affirms of them, that by casting of many a salamander into the fire for tryal he found it false. The same experiment is likewise avouched by Joubertus." 1849, John Brand, Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain: Chiefly Illustrating the Origin of Our Vulgar and Provincial Customs, Ceremonies, and Superstitions, volume 3, page 372
3. (cooking) A metal utensil with a flat head which is heated and put over a dish to brown the top.
   The salamander, a fairly long metal utensil with a flat rounded head, was left in the fire until red hot and then used to brown the top of a dish without further cooking. 1977, Richard Daunton-Fear, Penelope Vigar, Australian Colonial Cookery (discussing 19th century cookery), Rigby, 1977, page 41
4. (cooking) A small broiler (North America) or grill (Britain) that heats the food from above, used in professional cookery primarily for browning.
   The chef first put the steak under the salamander to sear the outside.
   Overfired grills, or salamanders, can, in addition, be used for making toast and salamandering. They have the heat source above the food […]. This may comprise sets of burners firing below refractory or metal frets, or surface combustion plaques. 2006, Frank Saxon, editor, Tolley's Industrial and Commercial Gas Installation Practice [Gas Service Technology; 3], 4th edition, Oxford, Burlington, Mass.: Elsevier Newnes, page 35
5. The pouched gopher, Geomys tuza, of the southern United States.
6. (UK, obsolete) A large poker.
   Multitudes had little Tin Kettles in their Houses, with Small-coal kindled, to light their Pipes withal; though in some places they use Candles, in others Salamanders 1698, William King, A journey to London[…], translation of original by Samuel Sorbière
7. (metallurgy) Solidified material in a furnace hearth.
8. (construction) A portable stove used to heat or dry buildings under construction.
   The necessary fires alone -- the salamanders and tinner's pots -- had caused dozens of small blazes. 2003, Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City, Vintage Books, page 192
9. (UK, slang, obsolete) A fire-eater (performer who pretends to swallow fire).

verb

1. To use a salamander (cooking utensil) in a cooking process.
   When cold, sprinkle the custard thickly with sugar and salamander it. 19th century (quoted 1977), recipe in Richard Daunton-Fear, Penelope Vigar, Australian Colonial Cookery, Rigby, page 41
   Overfired grills, or salamanders, can, in addition, be used for making toast and salamandering. They have the heat source above the food […]. This may comprise sets of burners firing below refractory or metal frets, or surface combustion plaques. 2006, Frank Saxon, editor, Tolley's Industrial and Commercial Gas Installation Practice [Gas Service Technology; 3], 4th edition, Oxford, Burlington, Mass.: Elsevier Newnes, page 35