dugong

[ doo-gong, -gawng ]

noun

1. an herbivorous, aquatic mammal, Dugong dugon, of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, having a barrel-shaped body, flipperlike forelimbs, no hind limbs, and a triangular tail: widespread but rare.

dugong

/ ˈduːɡɒŋ /

noun

1. a whalelike sirenian mammal, Dugong dugon, occurring in shallow tropical waters from E Africa to Australia: family Dugongidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of dugong¹

1790–1800; < New Latin < German: first recorded as dugung, apparently misrepresentation of Malay duyung, or a cognate Austronesian word

Word History and Origins

Origin of dugong¹

C19: from Malay duyong

Example Sentences

A woman dressed as a dugong, a rare marine mammal, beseeched passers-by to end the burning of fossil fuels.

From New York Times

It also meant getting preapproval from authorities, dragging the dugong through security and dressing into its heavy felt in the still-hot desert environment of Dubai’s Expo City, where COP28 is taking place.

From Seattle Times

This characteristic, called pachyosteosclerosis, is absent in living cetaceans - the group including whales, dolphins and porpoises - but present in sirenians, another marine mammal group including manatees and dugongs.

From Reuters

An in-house research facility will study aquatic life in the Persian Gulf and support the conservation of local species, including the manatee-like endangered dugong.

From Seattle Times

One day, she meets two mysterious boys who have been raised by dugongs, and they usher her into the magic world of the sea.

From New York Times