bandicoot
[ban-di-koot]
- any of several large East Indian rats of the genus Nesokia.
- any of several insectivorous and herbivorous marsupials of the family Peramelidae, of Australia and New Guinea: some are endangered.
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Origin of bandicoot
First recorded in 1780–90, bandicoot is from the Telugu word pandi-kokku pig-rat
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bandicoot
Historical Examples
The next person they spied was a Bandicoot carrying a watermelon.
The Magic PuddingNorman Lindsay
They brought back an ample supply, with the addition of a wallaby and a bandicoot.
The Young BerringtonsW.H.G. Kingston
Bandicoot (Perameles), a genus of small Australian marsupials.
There is an expression in Australia, "Blind as a bandicoot."
The Awful AustralianValerie Desmond
No bandicoot ever went into his hole with the dogs after him quicker than Jim came out of his.
Joe Wilson and His MatesHenry Lawson
bandicoot
- any agile terrestrial marsupial of the family Peramelidae of Australia and New Guinea. They have a long pointed muzzle and a long tail and feed mainly on small invertebrates
- bandicoot rat or mole rat any of three burrowing rats of the genera Bandicota and Nesokia, of S and SE Asia: family Muridae
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Word Origin
C18: from Telugu pandikokku, from pandi pig + kokku bandicoot
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bandicoot
n.
1789, from Telugu pandi-kokku, literally "pig-rat." Properly a large and destructive Indian rat; applied from 1827 to a type of insectivorous Australian marsupial somewhat resembling it.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper