stekelvarken

Dutch

Etymology

1708, from stekel (“spike”) +‎ varken (“pig”), perhaps through German Stachelschwein (1556), eventually after the Romance family of terms to which belong Italian porcospino, English porcupine. A slightly earlier Dutch word was ijzervarken (literally “iron pig”), whence Afrikaans ystervark.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsteːkəlˌvɑrkə(n)/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ste‧kel‧var‧ken

Noun

stekelvarken n (plural stekelvarkens, diminutive stekelvarkentje n)

  1. a porcupine, large rodent of the families Erethizontidae and Hystricidae

See also

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