prettygoodword | salamander

salamander (SAL-uh-man-der, sal-uh-MAN-der) - n., any lizard-shaped amphibian of the order Caudata, having a soft, moist, scaleless skin, found chiefly in northern temperate regions; a legendary lizard-like creature that is resistant to and lives in fire; in Paracelsian occult philosophy, the elemental being of fire; an object, such as a poker, used in fire or capable of withstanding heat; any of various portable stoves, burners, or heaters, esp. ones that heat from above; a mass of unfused material, such as metallic iron or partially reduced ore, in the hearth of a blast furnace.

Unlike gnome, where the folkloric process took Paracelsus's elemental and ran with it, here he took an existing folkloric being and identified it with an elemental. The oldest traces of the legendary being are discussions (multiple) by Aristotle, but they are widespread, including mentions in the Talmud. Given this pedigree, it shouldn't be surprising that the ultimate origin of the name is Ancient Greek, in the form salamándra, origin uncertain -- Persian samandar is one possibility, though etymologists debate whether instead the Persian name came from the Ancient Greek.

We've run out of elements, but not yet of words that Paracelsus coined -- we've got one more tomorrow.

---L.