| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024mon•o•treme (mon′ə trēm′),USA pronunciation n. - Mammalsany animal of the Monotremata, the most primitive order of mammals, characterized by certain birdlike and reptilian features, as hatching young from eggs, and having a single opening for the digestive, urinary, and genital organs, comprising only the duckbill and the echidnas of Australia and New Guinea.
- Neo-Latin monotrema, assumed singular of Monotremata, neuter plural of monotrematus monotrematous
- French monotrème
- 1825–35
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: monotreme /ˈmɒnəʊˌtriːm/ n - any mammal of the primitive order Monotremata, of Australia and New Guinea: egg-laying toothless animals with a single opening (cloaca) for the passage of eggs or sperm, faeces, and urine. The group contains only the echidnas and the platypus
Etymology: 19th Century: via New Latin from mono- + Greek trēma holemonotrematous /ˌmɒnəʊˈtriːmətəs/ adj |