Anuran
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any amphibian of the order Anura; a frog, a toad.
"The fact that the higher Batrachia go on metamorphosing until several of their structures are so perfect as to require but the gentlest modification to make them fit for the Mammal, does not require one to suppose that the Toad and the Frog lie in the direct route from the Ichthyic to the Mammalian types. That such power of variation, such aptitude for transformation exists in these essential but metamorphic Fish, suggests the probability that some of the very earliest of the Amphibia, filial perhaps to forms far lower than the Lamprey, did not stop at the last metamorphic stage of an Anuran, but changed still further, and thus laid the foundation of the higher classes."
- 2 any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species wordnet
- 1 Of or relating to the order Anura. not-comparable
"As a further illustration, we may take the results of experiments in which a Urodele organiser (from Triton alpestris) is grafted into an Anuran embryo (Bufo vulgaris)."
- 1 relating to frogs and toads wordnet
Example
More examples"The fact that the higher Batrachia go on metamorphosing until several of their structures are so perfect as to require but the gentlest modification to make them fit for the Mammal, does not require one to suppose that the Toad and the Frog lie in the direct route from the Ichthyic to the Mammalian types. That such power of variation, such aptitude for transformation exists in these essential but metamorphic Fish, suggests the probability that some of the very earliest of the Amphibia, filial perhaps to forms far lower than the Lamprey, did not stop at the last metamorphic stage of an Anuran, but changed still further, and thus laid the foundation of the higher classes."
Etymology
From New Latin Anoura, Anura (“name of the order of amphibians”), or from French Anoures (“name of a family of amphibians”), from Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-, “lacking”)) + Ancient Greek οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) + -an.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.