ornithorhynchus
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of ornithorhynchus
1790–1800; < New Latin: genus name, equivalent to ornitho- ornitho- + -rhynchus < Greek rhýnchos bill
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The guest had little difficulty, in recognising the uncouth form of the ornithorhynchus, or water-mole; but he turned with yet more eagerness, towards the spot, whence that shot had proceeded.
From A Love Story by A Bushman
No, no; you are the great man for acclimatization; you want to make the ornithorhynchus as common as the turkey.
From Sir Brook Fossbrooke, Volume I. by Lever, Charles James
Mr. Kinsey gave me an ornithorhynchus, and I am taming it.
From Following the Equator, Part 4 by Twain, Mark
But we must state that it is scientifically false to ask oneself if the dog be beautiful, and the ornithorhynchus ugly; if the lily be beautiful, and the artichoke ugly.
From Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic by Croce, Benedetto
Nevertheless, she dashed down the avenue at the top of her speed, when Joyce called out, tantalisingly, "The last one through the gate is a jibbering ornithorhynchus!"
From The Little Colonel's House Party by Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
