Lexic.us

Definition of Echidna

1. Noun. A burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to New Guinea.

2. Noun. A burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to Australia.

Definition of Echidna

1. n. A monster, half maid and half serpent.

Definition of Echidna

1. Proper noun. (Greek mythology) she-viper, a female monster ¹

2. Noun. Any of the four species of small spined monotremes, also known as a spiny anteaters, found in Australia and southern New Guinea. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Echidna

1. a spiny anteater [n -NAS or -NAE]

Medical Definition of Echidna

1. 1. A monster, half maid and half serpent. 2. A genus of Monotremata found in Australia, Tasmania, and new Guinea. They are toothless and covered with spines; called also porcupine ant-eater, and Australian ant-eater. Origin: L, a viper, adder, Gr. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Echidna

echards eche eched echelle echelle grating echelle gratings echelles echelon echeloned echeloning

echelons echeosis eches echeveria echeverias echidna (current term) echidnae echidnas echidnine echin-

echinacea echinaceas echinacoside echinate echinated eching echini echinid echinidan echinids

Literary usage of Echidna

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Text-book of Zoology by Thomas Jeffery Parker, William Aitcheson Haswell (1921)
"echidna aculeata. Ventral view of skull and right ... The nasal and premaxillary region is expanded into a rostrum which is much broader than in echidna. ..."

2. The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with Its Organization by Georges Cuvier, Pierre André Latreille (1831)
"(The Spiny echidna.) Completely covered with large spines. ... (The Bristly echidna.) Is covered with hair, among which the spines are half hidden. ..."

3. A Natural History of the Mammalia by George Robert Waterhouse (1846)
"THE long-spined echidna has long been known as a native of New South Wales, ... The echidna is a small animal, being about equal to the common Hedge-hog in ..."

4. The Monthly Magazine by Richard Phillips (1797)
"Concerning Typhon, echidna, and Python ... echidna, and Python, being the progeny of Tartarus, and Earth, which is conjoined with Heaven, form as it were, ..."

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