bandicoot

[ ban-di-koot ]
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noun
  1. any of several large East Indian rats of the genus Nesokia.

  2. any of several insectivorous and herbivorous marsupials of the family Peramelidae, of Australia and New Guinea: some are endangered.

Origin of bandicoot

1
First recorded in 1780–90, bandicoot is from the Telugu word pandi-kokku pig-rat

Words Nearby bandicoot

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British Dictionary definitions for bandicoot

bandicoot

/ (ˈbændɪˌkuːt) /


noun
  1. any agile terrestrial marsupial of the family Peramelidae of Australia and New Guinea. They have a long pointed muzzle and a long tail and feed mainly on small invertebrates

  2. bandicoot rat or mole rat any of three burrowing rats of the genera Bandicota and Nesokia, of S and SE Asia: family Muridae

Origin of bandicoot

1
C18: from Telugu pandikokku, from pandi pig + kokku bandicoot

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