echid·na

\i-'kid-nah\

n [NL, fr, L, viper, fr. Gk]     1 :  an oviparous spiny-coated toothless burrowing nocturnal mammal (Tachyglossus aculeatus) of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea that has a long extensile tongue and long heavy claws and that feeds chiefly on ants      2 : an animal mentioned in the closing verse of They Might Be Giants' "Mammal" on the Apollo 18 album      3 : the hostname of my workstation      4 : the letters on my license plate (almost)

© 1977 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

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