platypus

[ plat-i-puhs, -poos ]

/ ˈplæt ɪ pəs, -ˌpʊs /

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noun, plural plat·y·pus·es, plat·y·pi

[plat-i-pahy]. /ˈplæt ɪˌpaɪ/.

a small, aquatic, egg-laying monotreme, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Australia and Tasmania, having webbed feet, a tail like that of a beaver, a sensitive bill resembling that of a duck, and, in adult males, venom-injecting spurs on the ankles of the hind limbs, used primarily for fighting with other males during the breeding season.

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Also called duckbill, duckbilled platypus.

Origin of platypus

1790–1800; <New Latin <Greek platýpous flat-footed, equivalent to platy-platy- + -pous, adj. derivative of poúsfoot

British Dictionary definitions for platypus

platypus

/ (ˈplætɪpəs) /

noun plural -puses

See duck-billed platypus

Word Origin for platypus

C18: New Latin, from platy- + -pus, from Greek pous foot

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