pangolin
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of pangolin
1765–75; < Malay pengguling (dial. or bazaar Malay name for the animal) one who rolls up, equivalent to peng- agentive prefix + guling roll up or around; so called from its habit of curling into a ball when threatened
Explanation
A pangolin is an animal also known as a "scaly anteater." Though they're endangered, pangolins can still be found in parts of Africa, China, Southeast Asia, and India. Pangolins are distinctive for their scaly skin and the way they react to threats by curling up into a ball. Though they appear to be covered in large scales, pangolins aren't reptiles, and in fact, their skin is very different from reptilian scales; it's made of keratin, the same material that makes up our fingernails. Pangolins are sometimes described as resembling pinecones, particularly when the animals roll into a protective ball. The name pangolin comes from the Malay peng-goling, "roller."
Vocabulary lists containing pangolin
East Asia - Middle School
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Southeast Asia - Introductory
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East Asia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The researchers named the mountain-dwelling form Manis indoburmanica, or the Indo-Burmese pangolin.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Modern Himalayan pangolin samples matched aurita, showing that the animals described in 2025 as M. indoburmanica were actually members of the species first named M. aurita.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Only closer inspection reveals it to be a dead pangolin.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
At a South African rescue centre, a pangolin pup rests wrapped in a blanket.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
On such a terrace one will find the remains of deer, wild hog, dog, pig, porcupine, pangolin, and other animals both domestic and wild.
From Camps and Trails in China A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China by Roy Chapman Andrews
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
