echidna

[ ih-kid-nuh ]

noun
  1. Also called spiny anteater. any of several insectivorous monotremes of the genera Tachyglossus, of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea, and Zaglossus, of New Guinea, that have claws and a slender snout and are covered with coarse hair and long spines.

Origin of echidna

1
<New Latin (1798), originally a genus name; Latin: serpent, Echidna a mythical creature which gave birth to the Hydra and other monsters <Greek échidna, akin to échis viper

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British Dictionary definitions for echidna

echidna

/ (ɪˈkɪdnə) /


nounplural -nas or -nae (-niː)
  1. any of the spine-covered monotreme mammals of the genera Tachyglossus of Australia and Zaglossus of New Guinea: family Tachyglossidae. They have a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites: Also called: spiny anteater

Origin of echidna

1
C19: from New Latin, from Latin: viper, from Greek ekhidna

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