Advertisement

Advertisement

viscacha

or viz·ca·cha

[ vi-skah-chuh ]

noun

  1. a burrowing rodent, Lagostomus maximus, about the size of a groundhog, inhabiting the pampas of Paraguay and Argentina, allied to the chinchilla.
  2. Also called mountain viscacha. a related rodent of the genus Lagidium, of the Andes, about the size of a squirrel, having rabbitlike ears and a squirrellike tail.


viscacha

/ vɪsˈkætʃə /

noun

  1. a gregarious burrowing hystricomorph rodent, Lagostomus maximus, of southern South America, similar to but larger than the chinchillas: family Chinchillidae
  2. mountain viscacha
    the mountain chinchilla See chinchilla
“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
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of viscacha1

1595–1605; < Spanish < Quechua wisk’acha
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of viscacha1

C17: from Spanish, from Quechuan wiskácha
Discover More

Example Sentences

When I saw a viscacha—a weird rodent with a rabbit body and a squirrel tail—I thought my mind was playing tricks on me.

These villages being on the level prairie, the viscachas are careful to build them high enough so that floods will not reach them.

The viscachas and chinchillas resemble the rabbit in form and color, but they have shorter ears and long rough tails.

There the biscacha, or viscacha—as it is indifferently spelt—plays pretty much the same part as the rabbit in our northern lands.

They were chinchillas and viscachas, which he had taken out of his snares set overnight.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Visc.viscaria