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earth pig

noun
/ˈɜːθpɪɡ/UK/ˈɝθpɪɡ/US

Etymology

Calque of Afrikaans aardvark (literally “earth-pig”), equivalent to earth + pig.

  1. derived from *puk✻
  2. inherited from *picga✻
  3. inherited from pigge — “pig, piglet”
  4. compounded as earth pig — “earth + pig”

Definitions

  1. The aardvark.

    • In the high grassy plateaus, with their isolated groups of bushy shrubs, we find, together with the earth pigs and armadilloes mentioned above, two kinds of gazelles (Cephalophus mergens and Calotragus campestris).
    • The curious ant-eaters (earth pigs and pangolins) are probably relics of an earlier fauna, which have survived owing to their nocturnal habits.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for earth pig. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA