释义 |
triphibian|traɪˈfɪbɪən| [Irreg. f. tri- + amphibian n.] One who or that which is capable of existing or operating in three different spheres, esp. on land, on water, and in the air. (An occasional word.)
1935Sun (Baltimore) 26 Oct. 1/2 Constantinos Vlachos' invention, which he had intended should travel on the ground, in the air and on water, collapsed upon him in flames today as he was demonstrating it on the lawn of the Library of Congress. The device, which Vlachos, a resident of Washington, called a triphibian, has never been off the ground, his wife said. 1943W. S. Churchill in Amer. Speech (1944) XIX. 14/2 He [sc. Lord Mountbatten] is what I venture to call a complete triphibian. 1943Punch 8 Sept. 197 (caption) Looking Eastward. Mr. Punch's portrait of a ‘Triphibian’. 1977H. Osmond in A. Huxley Moksha viii. 39 Soon my dear friend [sc. A. Huxley], the wise and gentle triphibian, for that was his own definition of man, was no more. |