vicuna
noun
a wild South American ruminant, Vicugna vicugna, of the Andes, related to the guanaco but smaller, and yielding a soft, delicate wool: an endangered species, now increasing in numbers.
vicuna
American
[vahy-koo-nuh, -kyoo-, vi-, vi-koo-nyuh]
/ vaɪˈku nə, -ˈkju-, vɪ-, vɪˈku njə /
Or
vicuña
noun
-
a wild South American ruminant, Vicugna vicugna, of the Andes, related to the guanaco but smaller, and yielding a soft, delicate wool: an endangered species, now increasing in numbers.
-
a fabric of this wool or of some substitute, usually twilled and finished with a soft nap.
-
a garment, especially an overcoat, of vicuna.
vicuña
British
/ vɪˈkjuːnə, vɪˈkuːnjə /
noun
-
a tawny-coloured cud-chewing Andean artiodactyl mammal, Vicugna vicugna, similar to the llama: family Camelidae
-
the fine light cloth made from the wool obtained from this animal
Etymology
Origin of vicuna
1585–95; < Spanish vicuña < Quechua wik’uña
Vocabulary lists containing vicuna
English Words Derived from Quechua
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Example Sentences
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See Examples For:
The Highland vicuna is said to be doing well and settling in with the herd.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Fashionistas who purchase the gray, black, new vicuna or cream/beige coat on Cyber Monday get to save $213.
From Fox News ● Nov. 29, 2021
They are not committed to a two-season cycle, private planes and yachts, sable and vicuna.
From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2019
Outfits were prevalently in wool white, melange grey and vicuna beige, dotted with browns, greys, petrol blue a pond green.
From Reuters ● Jan. 13, 2017
A similar problem has frustrated schemes to breed the vicuna, an Andean wild camel whose wool is prized as the finest and lightest of any animal’s.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Sherman Adams, Eisenhower’s chief of staff, resigned in 1958 after refusing to answer questions about a vicuña coat and an Asian rug given to him by a textile manufacturer.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2026
Dwight Eisenhower’s White House chief of staff, Sherman Adams, was forced to resign when he was found to have accepted an expensive vicuña coat and other gifts from a businessman under federal investigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2022
The project was introduced earlier this year with Loro Piana’s vicuña products and has now been extended to include cashmere and baby cashmere, the company’s biggest sellers.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2021
One, the vicuña, is a relative of the llama and provides extremely valuable wool.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 17, 2019
It was made of brown vicuña wool, a luxury reserved for the highest of noblemen and shamans.
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
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