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Showing results for ornithorhynchus. Search instead for Ornithorhynchidae.

ornithorhynchus

American  
[awr-nuh-thuh-ring-kuhs] / ˌɔr nə θəˈrɪŋ kəs /

noun

  1. the platypus.


ornithorhynchus British  
/ ˌɔːnɪθəʊˈrɪŋkəs /

noun

  1. the technical name for duck-billed platypus

"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

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.

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

Even in Australia itself the ornithorhynchus and echidna have had to put up perforce with the lower places in the hierarchy of nature.

From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Allen, Grant

The webbed feet of the seal and ornithorhynchus typify the period when the hands and feet of the human embryo are as yet only partly subdivided into fingers and toes.

From Plain Facts for Old and Young by Kellogg, John Harvey

Unless, for instance, the person already knew certain characteristics of both birds and animals, he could not interpret the ornithorhynchus as a bird-beaked animal.

From Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education by Ontario. Ministry of Education

There is, too, the Tasmanian devil, a small but formidable animal, something like a badger, and the ornithorhynchus, or duck-billed platypus, which figures on some of the postage stamps.

From Six Letters From the Colonies by Seaton, R. C. (Robert Cooper)

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