echidna

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• /ɪˈkɪd.nə/
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• /əˈkɪd.nə/
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• ĕkĭdnä
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• /əˈkɪdnə/
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• CMU ARPABET: IH0 K IH1 D N AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From Ancient Greek Ἔχιδνα (Ékhidna, “Echidna”), from ἔχιδνα (ékhidna, “viper”).

Coined in scientific literature around 1811. Probably from Ancient Greek ἔχιδνα (ékhidna, “snake, viper”) via Latin echidna. Compare ἐχῖνος (ekhînos, “hedgehog, etc.”). However, this sense is problematic (unless it is a reference to the ant-eating tongue). The name perhaps belongs to Latin echinus (“sea urchin, hedgehog”) from the aforementioned Ancient Greek term's alternate sense of "sea-urchin" (also "sharp points"), which Watkins explains as "snake-eater", from ἔχις (ékhis, “snake”), though it may actually be from Proto-Indo-European *h1éǵhis (“hedgehog, hedgehog-like animals”). The 1810 Encyclopaedia Britannica deduces thus the animal's alternative name as "porcupine ant-eater". Alternatively, and perhaps more likely, the name refers to Echidna as the name of a serpent-nymph in Greek mythology, "a beautiful woman in the upper part of her body; but instead of legs and feet, she had from the waist downward, the form of a serpent", in which case the animal was named for its mixed features (early naturalists doubted whether it was a mammal or amphibian). Ultimately, the etymology may be from a synthesis of all the roots above. (From OED.)

97 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Danish: Echidna — mythology
• French: Échidna — mythology
• Greenlandic: Echidna — mythology
• Hungarian: Ekhidna — mythology
• Inuktitut: ᐃᑭᑦᓇ (ikitna) — mythology
• Polish: Echidna — mythology
• Russian: Эхидна (Exidna) — mythology
• Ukrainian: Єхи́дна (Jexýdna) — mythology
• Afrikaans: mierystervark — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Arabic: إِيكِيدْنَا (ʔikīdnā) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Arabic: نَضْناض (naḍnāḍ) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Armenian: եքիդնա (ekʻidna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Assamese: গোৱালিয়ান (güalian) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Assamese: একিনা (ekina) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Asturian: equidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Azerbaijani: yexidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Belarusian: яхі́дна (jaxídna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Breton: ekidne — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Bulgarian: ехи́дна (ehídna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Catalan: equidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Chinese Mandarin: 針鼴 /针鼹 (zhēnyǎn) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Chinese Mandarin: 食蟻蝟 /食蚁猬 (shíyǐwèi) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Chinese Mandarin: 刺食蟻獸 /刺食蚁兽 (cìshíyǐshòu) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Czech: ježura — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Danish: myrepindsvin — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Darkinjung: kunyi — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Dutch: mierenegel — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Erzya: нерьсеель (nersejeľ) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Esperanto: ekidno — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Estonian: sipelgasiil — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Finnish: nokkasiili — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• French: échidné — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Galician: equidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Georgian: იქედნე (ikedne) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Georgian: ექიდნა (ekidna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• German: Ameisenigel — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• German: Schnabeligel — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• German: Echidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Gooniyandi: minaji — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Greek: έχιδνα (échidna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Greek: αγκαθωτός μυρμηγκοφάγος (agkathotós myrmigkofágos) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Guugu Yimidhirr: balin.ga — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Hebrew: הנמלים — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Hindi: एकिडना (ekiḍnā) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Hungarian: hangyászsün — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Icelandic: mjónefur — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Icelandic: maurígull — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Ido: ekidno — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Indonesian: landak semut — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Indonesian: nokdiak — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Irish: eicidneach — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Italian: echidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Japanese: 針土竜 (harimogura) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Japanese: エキドナ (ekidona) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Javanese: ekidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Kazakh: түрпі (türpı) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Khmer: អ៊ីឈីដាណា (ʼiichiidaanaa) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Korean: 가시두더지 (gasidudeoji) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Korean: 바늘두더지 (baneuldudeoji) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Australian Kriol: bogibain — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Kyrgyz: ехидна (yehidna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Latin: echidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Latvian: ehidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Lithuanian: echidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Macedonian: ехи́дна (ehídna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Norwegian Bokmål: maurpiggsvin — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Norwegian Bokmål: maurpinnsvin — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Norwegian Nynorsk: maurpiggsvin — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Polish: kolczatka — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Portuguese: equidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Romanian: echidnă — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Romanian: echidneu — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Russian: ехи́дна (jexídna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Samoan: ekitina — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Serbo-Croatian: кљунати јежак — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Serbo-Croatian: је́жак (hedgehog) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Serbo-Croatian: kljunati ježak — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Serbo-Croatian: jéžak (hedgehog) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Slovak: ježura — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Slovene: kljunati ježek — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Spanish: equidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Swahili: mhanganungu — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Swahili: ekidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Swedish: myrpiggsvin — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Tagalog: ekidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Tajik: ехидна (yexidna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Thai: อิคิดนา (ì-kít-nâa) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Turkish: ekidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Turkish: dikenli karıncayiyen — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Ukrainian: єхи́дна (jexýdna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Uyghur: يېخىدنا (yëxidna) — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Uzbek: yexidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Vietnamese: thú lông nhím — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Wambaya: nyilangunya — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Wardaman: gawalyan — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Welsh: ecidna — any of the four species of small spined monotremes
• Woiwurrung: gawan — any of the four species of small spined monotremes