Amphibians are called amphibious because they
Amphibians so-called amphibious meaning dual life derived from Greek amphi both and bios life reflecting biphasic ecology where eggs and early larval stages requiring external fertilization and aquatic tadpole development occur in freshwater ponds, while transformed adults forage semi-terrestrially on insects but remain moisture-dependent for cutaneous respiration and reproduction. Most need water films for gaseous exchange and breeding migrations. Completely aquatic life describes fishes, exclusively terrestrial characterizes reptiles, ability to fly birds, living both environments epitomizes
Ref: NCERT Class 11 Chapter 4 Class Amphibia Habitat; Campbell Biology 12th ed. Chapter 34 Amphibian Ecology
