Insectivora

[ in-sek-tiv-er-uh ]

noun

1. the order comprising the insectivores.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Insectivora¹

1830–40; < New Latin, neuter plural of insectivorus insectivorous

Example Sentences

HEDGEHOG, or Urchin, a member of the mammalian order Insectivora, remarkable for its dentition, its armature of spines and its short tail.

From Project Gutenberg

Lemur, lē′mur, n. a genus of mammals appearing to stand between the Insectivora and the monkeys, forest dwellers, mainly nocturnal in habits, common in Madagascar.

From Project Gutenberg

Insectivora, in-sek-tiv′or-a, n. an order of mammals, mostly terrestrial, nocturnal in habit, and small in size—shrews, moles, hedgehogs, &c.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

El′ephant-seal, the largest of the seals, the male measuring about 20 feet in length; El′ephant's-foot, a plant of which the root-stock forms a large fleshy mass resembling an elephant's foot, used as food by the Hottentots; El′ephant-shrew, name applied to a number of long-nosed, long-legged Insectivora, natives of Africa, and notable for their agile jumping over loose sand.—A white elephant, a gift which occasions the recipient more trouble than it is worth—a white elephant being a common gift of the kings of Siam to a courtier they wished to ruin.

From Project Gutenberg

As in the world of Vegetation, by way whereof Matter first quickened into Life, so in this realm of Insectivoræ by way of which Life is gravitating back to the inertia of Inorganic Matter, in ever shallower, denser and more sluggish strata, the male is seen as appanage and victim of the female.

From Project Gutenberg