viscacha
Americannoun
-
a burrowing rodent, Lagostomus maximus, about the size of a groundhog, inhabiting the pampas of Paraguay and Argentina, allied to the chinchilla.
-
Also called mountain viscacha. a related rodent of the genus Lagidium, of the Andes, about the size of a squirrel, having rabbitlike ears and a squirrellike tail.
noun
-
a gregarious burrowing hystricomorph rodent, Lagostomus maximus, of southern South America, similar to but larger than the chinchillas: family Chinchillidae
-
the mountain chinchilla See chinchilla
Etymology
Origin of viscacha
1595–1605; < Spanish < Quechua wisk’acha
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.
In their place is the equally destructive viscacha or prairie dog—a much larger animal, probably three or four times the size, having very low, broad head, little ears, and thick, bristling whiskers.
From Through Five Republics on Horseback, Being an Account of Many Wanderings in South America by G. Whitfield Ray
Another ploughman besides the prairie-dog and the viscacha, who isn't popular with farmers—although Thompson Seton calls him "The Master Ploughman of the West"—is the pocket-gopher.
From The Adventures of a Grain of Dust by Hallam Hawksworth
The viscacha makes his home, like the rabbit, by burrowing in the ground, where he remains during daylight.
From Through Five Republics on Horseback, Being an Account of Many Wanderings in South America by G. Whitfield Ray
The chinchilla is a much more beautiful creature than the viscacha, and is a better-known animal, its soft and beautifully-marbled fur being an article of fashionable wear in the cities of Europe.
From The Hunters' Feast Conversations Around the Camp Fire by Mayne Reid
The prairie-dog's native home is on our Western plains, but he has a cousin away off in South America—although he may never have heard of him—called the viscacha.
From The Adventures of a Grain of Dust by Hallam Hawksworth
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.
