paca

American  

[pah-kuh, pak-uh] / ˈpɑ kə, ˈpæk ə /

noun

1. a large, white-spotted, almost tailless rodent, Agouti paca, of Central and South America, having features resembling a guinea pig and rabbit: valued as food.

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paca British  

/ ˈpɑːkə, ˈpækə /

noun

1. a large burrowing hystricomorph rodent, Cuniculus paca, of Central and South America, having white-spotted brown fur and a large head: family Dasyproctidae

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Etymology

Origin of paca

1650–60; < Spanish or Portuguese < Tupi

Example Sentences

The shelters were also occupied by the living, who made tools and cooked, evidenced by the buried bones of armadillos, deer and a type of rodent called a paca, Dr. Prufer said.

From New York Times • Mar. 22, 2022

Like others in his Miskito community, his family caught fish and crayfish from the rivers, hunted deer and large guinea pig-like paca, and used trees harvested from the forest to build their homes and boats.

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2020

They’ve recorded a clever form of weasel called a tayra and lots of crazy rodents like the agouti and the mountain paca.

From New York Times • Nov. 18, 2011

Our golden agouti and spotted paca got along very well, contentedly huddling together and sleeping against each other until the first was stolen.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

The agouti, or Indian cony, or rabbit, frequents the same region as the paca, and is about the size of an ordinary hare.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by Kingston, William Henry Giles