vicuna

or vi·cu·ña

[ vahy-koo-nuh, -kyoo-, vi-, vi-koo-nyuh ]

noun
  1. a wild South American ruminant, Vicugna vicugna, of the Andes, related to the guanaco but smaller, and yielding a soft, delicate wool: an endangered species, now increasing in numbers.

  2. a fabric of this wool or of some substitute, usually twilled and finished with a soft nap.

  1. a garment, especially an overcoat, of vicuna.

Origin of vicuna

1
1585–95; <Spanish vicuña<Quechua wik’uña

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for vicuña

vicuña

vicuna (vɪˈkjuːnə)

/ (vɪˈkuːnjə) /


noun
  1. a tawny-coloured cud-chewing Andean artiodactyl mammal, Vicugna vicugna, similar to the llama: family Camelidae

  2. the fine light cloth made from the wool obtained from this animal

Origin of vicuña

1
C17: from Spanish vicuña, from Quechuan wikúña

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012