peccary

[pek-uh-ree]

See more synonyms for peccary on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural pec·ca·ries, (especially collectively) pec·ca·ry.

any of several piglike hoofed mammals of the genus Tayassu, of North and South America, as T. tajacu (collared peccary, or javelina), having a dark gray coat with a white collar.

Origin of peccary

Borrowed into English from Carib around 1605–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for peccary

hog, boar, porker, peccary

Examples from the Web for peccary

Historical Examples of peccary

It is there known as the “vaquira,” whence our word “peccary.”
The Hunters' Feast
Mayne Reid
Farther than to eat their fruit, the forest trees are of no use to the peccary.
The Hunters' Feast
Mayne Reid
But I had never yet killed a peccary; in fact, had never seen one.
The Hunters' Feast
Mayne Reid
The peccary, having its snout tied up, was unable to squeak.
On the Banks of the Amazon
W.H.G. Kingston
On that raft was tied a bit of peccary meat, the only morsel of food he had in the world.
The Red Lure
Roy J. Snell

British Dictionary definitions for peccary

peccary

noun plural -ries or -ry

either of two piglike artiodactyl mammals, Tayassu tajacu (collared peccary) or T. albirostris (white-lipped peccary) of forests of southern North America, Central and South America: family Tayassuidae

Word Origin for peccary

C17: from Carib

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

Word Origin and History for peccary

pig-like animal of South America, 1610s, from Carib (Guiana or Venezuela) pakira, paquira.