platypus

[ plat-i-puhs, -poos ]

noun

, plural plat·y·pus·es, plat·y·pi [plat, -i-pahy].

1. a small, aquatic, egg-laying monotreme, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Australia and Tasmania, having webbed feet, a tail like that of a beaver, a sensitive bill resembling that of a duck, and, in adult males, venom-injecting spurs on the ankles of the hind limbs, used primarily for fighting with other males during the breeding season.

platypus

/ ˈplætɪpəs /

noun

1. See duck-billed platypus

Word History and Origins

Origin of platypus¹

1790–1800; < New Latin < Greek platýpous flat-footed, equivalent to platy- platy- + -pous, adj. derivative of poús foot

Word History and Origins

Origin of platypus¹

C18: New Latin, from platy- + -pus, from Greek pous foot

Example Sentences

Professor Flannery said the research reveals that 100 million years ago, Australia was home to a diversity of monotremes, of which the platypus and the echidna are the only surviving descendants.

From Science Daily

Bjorkstrand may have led Columbus in goals for two consecutive years before coming to Seattle, but this was like being the world’s prettiest platypus.

From Seattle Times

I am going to watch the sun turn into a platypus.

From Los Angeles Times

The platypus, a unique egg-laying mammal native to Australia, faces many threats in the wild: climate change, predators, pollution, floods and shrinking freshwater habitats.

From New York Times

Williams once mused, "Do you think God gets stoned? I think so. Look at the platypus."

From Salon

What Is The Plural Of Platypus?

Plural word for platypus

The plural form of platypus can be either platypuses or platypi, pronounced [ plat-i-pahy ], but platypuses is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words ending in -us are formed in the same way as platypuses, such as virus/viruses, sinus/sinuses, and walrus/walruses. 

Irregular plurals that are formed like platypi, such as cactus/cacti and fungus/fungi, derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin. However, the standard English plural -es ending is often also acceptable for these terms, as in cactuses.