Word Study
triton
CIDE DICTIONARY
triton, n. [L., fr. Gr. Tri`twn.].
- A fabled sea demigod, the son of Neptune and Amphitrite, and the trumpeter of Neptune. He is represented by poets and painters as having the upper part of his body like that of a man, and the lower part like that of a fish. He often has a trumpet made of a shell. [1913 Webster]"Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea,
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn." [1913 Webster] - Any one of many species of marine gastropods belonging to
Triton and allied genera, having a stout spiral shell, often handsomely colored and ornamented with prominent varices. Some of the species are among the largest of all gastropods. Called alsotrumpet shell , andsea trumpet . [1913 Webster] - Any one of numerous species of aquatic salamanders. The common European species are
Hemisalamandra cristata ,Molge palmata , andMolge alpestris , a red-bellied species common in Switzerland. The most common species of the United States isDiemyctylus viridescens . See Illust. under Salamander. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
triton, n.
1 (in Greek mythology) a minor sea-god usu. represented as a man with a fish's tail and carrying a trident and shell-trumpet.
2 (triton) any marine gastropod mollusc of the family Cymatiidae, with a long conical shell.
3 (triton) a newt.
1 (in Greek mythology) a minor sea-god usu. represented as a man with a fish's tail and carrying a trident and shell-trumpet.
2 (triton) any marine gastropod mollusc of the family Cymatiidae, with a long conical shell.
3 (triton) a newt.
Etymology
L f. Gk Triton
triton, n. a nucleus of a tritium atom, consisting of a proton and two neutrons.
THESAURUS
triton
Davy, Davy Jones, Dylan, Neptune, Nereid, Nereus, Oceanid, Oceanus, Poseidon, Thetis, Varuna, fresh-water nymph, kelpie, limniad, man fish, mermaid, merman, naiad, nix, nixie, ocean nymph, sea devil, sea god, sea nymph, sea-maid, sea-maiden, seaman, siren, undine, water god, water spirit, water spriteROGET THESAURUS
triton
Ocean
N sea, ocean, main, deep, brine, salt water, waves, billows, high seas, offing, great waters, watery waste, vasty deep, wave, tide, hydrography, hydrographer, Neptune, Poseidon, Thetis, Triton, Naiad, Nereid, sea nymph, Siren, trident, dolphin, oceanic, marine, maritime, pelagic, pelagian, seagoing, hydrographic, bathybic, cotidal, at sea, on sea, afloat.For further exploring for "triton" in Webster Dictionary Online