dik-dik

American  

[dik-dik] / ˈdɪkˌdɪk /

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.

---

dik-dik British  

/ 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

---

Etymology

Origin of dik-dik

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

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dik-dik

The commander, who had offered safe passage and a rare interview, released the dik-dik, which scuttled off into the bush.

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 16, 2019

In a clearing in rural Somalia, a jihadi commander sat in a white plastic chair, stroking a dik-dik, an antelope the size of a cat.

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 16, 2019

They are all small, the dik-dik being scarcely larger than a rabbit, and they are divided into as many subspecies as the duiker.

From In Africa Hunting Adventures in the Big Game Country by John T. McCutcheon

For upward of a mile the hunters encountered nothing but a few dik-dik and steinbuck—tiny grass antelope, too small for the purpose.

From The Leopard Woman by Stewart Edward White

The water-buck came here in herds from the elephant country away south, beyond the hour-glass-like constriction which divided the great forest, and the tiny dik-dik, smallest of all antelopes, came also to take its sip.

From The Pools of Silence by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---