olympic salamander
- noun
- /əˈlɪm.pɪk ˈsæl.ə.mæn.dər/
- Specialized
:
salamandra olímpica
- The olympic salamander is often found in moist forests near streams in Washington State.
Examples
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We spotted several olympic salamanders hiding under logs during our hike.
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Scientists are studying how habitat loss affects the olympic salamander population.
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The olympic salamander is known for its large eyes.
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Have you ever seen an olympic salamander?
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The olympic salamander is often found in moist forests near streams in Washington State.
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Scientists are studying how habitat loss affects the olympic salamander population.
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We spotted several olympic salamanders hiding under logs during our hike.
Synonyms
A small salamander with large eyes that lives near cold streams in the northwestern United States
A small water salamander that lives in cold streams in the Pacific Northwest of North America
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is a straightforward composition of a place adjective ('Olympic') and an animal noun ('salamander'), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a salamander associated with the Olympic region. Place-based species names are a common, cross-linguistic naming pattern, making the meaning directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Olympic salamander is named after the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. The part olympic points to those mountains and salamander is the small, big-eyed animal that lives in wet forests and near streams there, so the name shows it is 'from that place'.
