echidna
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e·chid·na
(ĭ-kĭd′nə)n.
Any of several nocturnal burrowing egg-laying mammals of the genera Tachyglossus and Zaglossus of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea, having a spiny coat, a slender snout, and an extensible sticky tongue used for catching insects. Also called spiny anteater.
[Latin, adder, viper, from Greek ekhidna, from ekhis.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
echidna
(ɪˈkɪdnə)n, pl -nas or -nae (-niː)
(Animals) 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
[C19: from New Latin, from Latin: viper, from Greek ekhidna]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
e•chid•na
(ɪˈkɪd nə)n., pl. -nas.
any long-snouted, spiny, insectivorous monotreme of the family Tachyglossidae, of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.
Also called spiny anteater. [< New Latin (1798), orig. a genus name; Latin: serpent, Echidna (a mythical creature that gave birth to the Hydra and other monsters) < Greek échidna, akin to échis viper]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
e·chid·na
(ĭ-kĭd′nə) Either of two burrowing, egg-laying mammals having a spiny coat, slender snout, and long sticky tongue used for catching ants and termites. Echidnas are toothless and have claws used for digging. They are found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  echidna - a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to New Guineaegg-laying mammal, monotreme - the most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheria genus Zaglossus, Zaglossus - a genus of Tachyglossidae |
| 2. |  echidna - a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to Australiaegg-laying mammal, monotreme - the most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheria genus Tachyglossus, Tachyglossus - type genus of the family Tachyglossidae |
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