dugong

[ doo-gong, -gawng ]

/ ˈdu gɒŋ, -gɔŋ /

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noun

an herbivorous, aquatic mammal, Dugong dugon, of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, having a barrel-shaped body, flipperlike forelimbs, no hind limbs, and a triangular tail: widespread but rare.

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Origin of dugong

1790–1800; <New Latin <German: first recorded as dugung, apparently misrepresentation of Malay duyung, or a cognate Austronesian word

Words nearby dugong

dug, du Gard, Dugas' test, dugento, dugite, dugong, dugout, Du Guesclin, duh, Duhamel, Duhring's disease

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use dugong in a sentence

Of marine mammals the dugong is peculiar to the Indian Ocean; in the Ganges is found a peculiar species of dolphin.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2|Various
Again, the Dugong and Manatee are dermally alike, yet extremely different as regards the structure and number of their teeth.
On the Genesis of Species|St. George Mivart
The latter country possesses an organised dugong fishery, which bids fair to exterminate this harmless animal.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon|Robert A. Sterndale
When the female Dugong is nursing her offspring the position assumed is almost identical with that of a human mother.
Myth-Land|F. Edward Hulme

In neither Manatee nor Dugong is there any trace of an acetabulum but one can be made out in Halitherium.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for dugong

dugong

/ (ˈduːɡɒŋ) /

noun

a whalelike sirenian mammal, Dugong dugon, occurring in shallow tropical waters from E Africa to Australia: family Dugongidae

Word Origin for dugong

C19: from Malay duyong

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