echidna
noun /ɪˈkɪdnə/
/ɪˈkɪdnə/
(also spiny anteater)
- an Australasian insect-eating animal that has a long nose, sharp claws on its feet, and sharp spines on its bodyTopics Animalsc2Word Originmid 19th cent.: modern Latin, from Greek ekhidna ‘viper’, also the name of a mythical creature which gave birth to the Hydra (a snake with several heads, in ancient Greek mythology); compare with ekhinos ‘sea urchin, hedgehog’.