Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Triton
‖
Tri′ton
(trī′tŏn)
, Noun.
[L., fr. Gr.
Τρίτων
.] (Gr. Myth.)
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.
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea,
Or hear old
Or hear old
Triton
blow his wreathed horn. Wordsworth.
2.
(Zool.)
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 also trumpet shell
, and sea trumpet
. 3.
(Zool.)
Any one of numerous species of aquatic salamanders. The common European species are
Hemisalamandra cristata
, Molge palmata
, and Molge alpestris
, a red-bellied species common in Switzerland. The most common species of the United States is Diemyctylus viridescens
. See Illust. under Salamander
. Webster 1828 Edition
Triton
TRI'TON
,Noun.
1.
A genus of the molluscal order of worms.2.
A bird of the West Indies, famous for its notes.