dik-dik

[ dik-dik ]

noun
  1. any antelope of the genus Madoqua or Rhynchotragus, of eastern and southwestern Africa, growing only to 14 inches (36 centimeters) high at the shoulder.

Origin of dik-dik

1
First recorded in 1880–85; probably from an East African language; imitative of the animal's cry

Words Nearby dik-dik

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dik-dik in a sentence

  • This animal turned out to be a little mouse-deer, or dik-dik.

    Sport in Abyssinia | Dermot Mayo
  • They are all small, the dik-dik being scarcely larger than a rabbit, and they are divided into as many subspecies as the duiker.

    In Africa | John T. McCutcheon
  • We saw another dik-dik, and then started for home, in a temperature that was very hot indeed.

    Sport in Abyssinia | Dermot Mayo
  • After I had gone a little way a dik-dik crossed the dry river-bed in front of me; I fired at him, but it was too long a shot.

    Sport in Abyssinia | Dermot Mayo
  • dik-dik flesh is very good eating; it tastes better roasted when one has bacon to add to it.

    Sport in Abyssinia | Dermot Mayo

British Dictionary definitions for dik-dik

dik-dik

/ (ˈdɪkˌdɪk) /


noun
  1. any small antelope of the genus Madoqua, inhabiting semiarid regions of Africa, having an elongated muzzle and, in the male, small stout horns

Origin of dik-dik

1
C19: an East African name, probably of imitative origin

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