carpinchon.
/kɑːˈpɪntʃəʊ/ A local name in South America for the capybara.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Hystricomorpha (porcupine or guinea-pig) > [noun] > genus Hydrochoerus (capybara)
water hog1625
river hog1678
capybara1774
water cavy1835
carpincho1839
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. iii. 57 These great Rodents are generally called ‘carpinchos’.
1869 W. H. Hudson Let. 14 Dec. in Ornithol. Buenos Ayres (1951) i. 2 I have known the ciervo jaguar aguará and carpincho with other large mammels.
1904 Westm. Gaz. 6 Sept. 10/1 When alarmed the carpincho utters a kind of grunting cry.
1949 Oxf. Junior Encycl. (1955) II. 81 The Capybaras, or Carpinchos, are 4 feet long and weigh about 98 pounds.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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n.1839