newt

[ noot, nyoot ]

noun

1. any of several brilliantly colored salamanders of the family Salamandridae, especially those of the genera Triturus and Notophthalmus, of North America, Europe, and northern Asia.
2. any of various other small salamanders.

newt

/ njuːt /

noun

1. any of various small semiaquatic urodele amphibians, such as Triturus vulgaris ( common newt ) of Europe, having a long slender body and tail and short feeble legs
2. any other urodele amphibian, including the salamanders

Word History and Origins

Origin of newt¹

1375–1425; late Middle English newte, for ewte (the phrase an ewte being taken as a newte; nickname ), variant of evet, Old English efete eft ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of newt¹

C15: from a newt, a mistaken division of an ewt; ewt, from Old English eveta eft ¹

Example Sentences

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is married to his third wife after cheating on his second, called the ad "sick" and evidence of moral "decay."

From Salon

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is raging about an ad telling women they don't have to reveal to anyone, including their husbands, how they vote in the 2024 election.

From Salon

If you’re still not convinced this is a bad idea, I’ll just end by telling you who thinks it’s brilliant: Newt Gingrich.

From Slate

This really started back in the 1990s with Newt Gingrich and the primer written by Republican strategist Frank Luntz called "Language: A Key Mechanism of Control" for Gingrich's political action committee, GOPAC.

From Salon

She notes, for example, that the 1990s House of Representatives, “as run by Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich, was not a healthy place for children and other living things.”

From Slate

Related Words

• frog
• salamander
• toad