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wombat

[wom-bat]
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noun
  1. any of several stocky, burrowing, herbivorous marsupials of the family Vombatidae, of Australia, about the size of a badger.
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Origin of wombat

First recorded in 1790–1800, wombat is from the Dharuk word wom-bat
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for wombat

Historical Examples

  • The wombat is an herbivorous animal, which burrows in the ground like a badger.

    In Search of the Castaways

    Jules Verne

  • The Possum turned pale and the Wombat hastily got behind him.

    The Magic Pudding

    Norman Lindsay

  • They are now represented only by the Australian wombat (Phascolomys).

  • Not a cigar was left, but there was the skeleton of the wombat.

    The Life of James McNeill Whistler

    Elizabeth Robins Pennell

  • Days passed, weeks passed, months passed, and there was no wombat.

    The Life of James McNeill Whistler

    Elizabeth Robins Pennell

British Dictionary definitions for wombat

wombat

noun
  1. any of various burrowing herbivorous Australian marsupials, esp Vombatus ursinus, constituting the family Vombatidae and having short limbs, a heavy body, and coarse dense fur
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Word Origin

C18: from a native Australian language
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 wombat

n.

marsupial mammal of Australia, 1798, from aboriginal Australian womback, wombar.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper