mammalian

[muh-mey-lee-uhn, -meyl-yuhn]

noun

1. an animal of the class Mammalia; mammal.

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the class Mammalia; characteristic of mammals.

Other Word Forms

• mammality noun
• nonmammalian noun
• unmammalian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mammalian¹

1825–35; < New Latin Mammali ( a ) ( mammal ) + -an

Example Sentences

Each human and mammalian infection gives the virus an opportunity to mutate and evolve better ways of transmitting from person to person — a key benchmark for what makes a pathogen a pandemic-level threat.

From Salon

Instead, they reveal mammalian brains to be the product of millions of years of evolution and adaptation to environments.

From Salon

Experts have continued to raise ethical and ecological issues with “de-extinction,” even as science has advanced to the point where manipulating mammalian genomes is technically possible.

From Los Angeles Times

Cats, rats and rabbits are believed to be coyotes’ preferred mammalian prey, she said.

From Los Angeles Times

The terror birds, which out-competed the mammals in occupying this particular ecological niche, may even have driven mammalian predators to take to the forests instead.

From Salon

Related Words

• bodily 
• natural