Adjacent Words

Platypus definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PLAT'YPUS, n. A quadruped of New Holland, whose jaws are elongated into the shape of a duck's bill. The body is covered with thick hair and the feet are webbed.
This animal has been arranged with the Mammalia, but it is now presumed to be oviparous; at least its breasts have not hitherto been observed.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: small densely furred aquatic monotreme of Australia and Tasmania having a broad bill and tail and webbed feet; only species in the family Ornithorhynchidae [syn: platypus, duckbill, duckbilled platypus, duck-billed platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural platypuses; also platypi) Etymology: New Latin, from Greek platypous flat-footed, from platys broad, flat + pous foot — more at place, foot Date: 1799 a small carnivorous aquatic monotreme mammal (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) of eastern Australia and Tasmania that has a fleshy bill resembling that of a duck, dense fur, webbed feet, and a broad flattened tail — called also duck-billed platypus

Britannica Concise

Monotreme amphibious mammal (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) of lakes and streams in E Australia and Tasmania. About 23 in. (60 cm) long, the squat-bodied platypus has a ducklike snout, short legs, webbed feet, and a beaverlike tail. Each day it eats nearly its own weight in crustaceans, fishes, frogs, mollusks, tadpoles, and earthworms; lacking teeth, it crushes its food with ridges in the bill. The female lays one to three eggs in a nest in a long twisting passage above the waterline. The young are weaned about four months after hatching. The male's heel bears a spur connected to a poison-secreting gland. Large fishes and perhaps snakes prey on platypuses. Formerly trapped for their dense, soft fur, they are now protected by law.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. an Australian aquatic egg-laying mammal, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, having a pliable ducklike bill, webbed feet, and sleek grey fur. Also called DUCKBILL.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Platypus Plat"y*pus, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? + ? foot.] (Zo["o]l.) The duck mole. See under Duck.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Duck Duck, n. [OE. duke, doke. See Duck, v. t. ] 1. (Zool.) Any bird of the subfamily Anatin[ae], family Anatid[ae]. Note: The genera and species are numerous. They are divided into river ducks and sea ducks. Among the former are the common domestic duck (Anas boschas); the wood duck (Aix sponsa); the beautiful mandarin duck of China (Dendronessa galeriliculata); the Muscovy duck, originally of South America (Cairina moschata). Among the sea ducks are the eider, canvasback, scoter, etc. 2. A sudden inclination of the bead or dropping of the person, resembling the motion of a duck in water. Here be, without duck or nod, Other trippings to be trod. --Milton. Bombay duck (Zo["o]l.), a fish. See Bummalo. Buffel duck, or Spirit duck. See Buffel duck. Duck ant (Zo["o]l.), a species of white ant in Jamaica which builds large nests in trees. Duck barnacle. (Zo["o]l.) See Goose barnacle. Duck hawk. (Zo["o]l.) (a) In the United States: The peregrine falcon. (b) In England: The marsh harrier or moor buzzard. Duck mole (Zo["o]l.), a small aquatic mammal of Australia, having webbed feet and a bill resembling that of a duck (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). It belongs the subclass Monotremata and is remarkable for laying eggs like a bird or reptile; -- called also duckbill, platypus, mallangong, mullingong, tambreet, and water mole. To make ducks and drakes, to throw a flat stone obliquely, so as to make it rebound repeatedly from the surface of the water, raising a succession of jets

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