vicuna
/vɪˈkuːnjə/ noun, proper noun
Forms vicunas vicugna
- noun A South American mammal, Lama vicugna, closely related to the alpaca, llama, and guanaco.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish vicuña, itself borrowed from Quechua wik'uña.
Borrowed from Spanish Vicuña, itself of Basque origin.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A South American mammal (Auchenia vicunna) native of the elevated plains of the Andes, allied to the llama but smaller. It has a thick coat of very fine reddish brown wool, and long, pendent white hair on the breast and belly. It is hunted for its wool and flesh.
Etymology [Sp. vicuña. Cf. Vigonia.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “vicuna”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details