echidna
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echidna¹
- /əˈkɪdnə/
Where it comes from
Coined in scientific literature around 1811. Likely from Echidna, a monster in Greek mythology, "a beautiful woman in the upper part of her body; but instead of legs and feet, she had from the waist downward, the form of a serpent", in which case the animal was named for its mixed features (early naturalists doubted whether it was a mammal or amphibian).
Alternatively, from Ancient Greek ἔχιδνα (ékhidna, “snake, viper”) via Latin echidna. Compare ἐχῖνος (ekhînos, “hedgehog, etc.”). However, this sense is problematic (unless it is a reference to the ant-eating tongue). The name perhaps belongs to Latin echinus (“sea urchin, hedgehog”) from the aforementioned Ancient Greek term's alternate sense of "sea-urchin" (also "sharp points"), which Watkins explains as "snake-eater", from ἔχις (ékhis, “snake”), though it may actually be from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰis (“hedgehog, hedgehog-like animals”). The 1810 Encyclopaedia Britannica deduces thus the animal's alternative name as "porcupine ant-eater". Ultimately, the etymology may be from a synthesis of all the roots above. (From OED.)
noun echidnas · echidnae
-
Any of the small spined monotremes in the family Tachyglossidae, the four extant species of which are found in Australia and southern New Guinea.
Similar: spiny anteater, bunning, tachyglossid
Echidna²
- /ɪˈkɪd.nə/
- /əˈkɪd.nə/
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek Ἔχιδνα (Ékhidna, “Echidna”), from ἔχιδνα (ékhidna, “viper”).
proper noun
- A female monster who, along with Typhon, mothered the vast majority of the famous monsters and creatures of Greek mythology. Horrible, hideous, and of hellish race, / Borne of the brooding of Echidna base, / Or other like infernall furies kinde […].
Translations
Every language
noun any of the four species of small spined monotremes
| Español | equidna |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 가시두더지 gasidudeoji, 바늘두더지 baneuldudeoji |
| 日本語 | 針土竜 harimogura, エキドナ ekidona |
| 中文 | 針鼴 /针鼹 zhēnyǎn, 食蟻蝟 /食蚁猬 shíyǐwèi, 刺食蟻獸 /刺食蚁兽 cìshíyǐshòu |
| हिन्दी | एकिडना ekiḍnā |
| Kiswahili | mhanganungu, ekidna |
| Português | equidna |
| Français | échidné |
| Deutsch | Ameisenigel, Schnabeligel, Echidna |
| Italiano | echidna |
| Ελληνικά | έχιδνα échidna, αγκαθωτός μυρμηγκοφάγος agkathotós myrmigkofágos |
| Română | echidnă, echidneu |
| Русский | ехи́дна jexídna |
| Tiếng Việt | thú lông nhím |
| العربية | إِيكِيدْنَا ʔikīdnā, نَضْناض naḍnāḍ |
| עברית | הנמלים |
Talk about this word "echidna." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/echidna. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. echidna. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/echidna "echidna." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/echidna.Cite this
@misc{echidna_2026,
title = {echidna},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/echidna},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
