English
Etymology
Afrikaans, from aarde, earth, and vark , pig; hence "earth-pig". Early European colonists in South Africa noticed that the animal was similar to a pig, while "aarde" hints at the animal's habit of burrowing. The word was loaned from Afrikaans in the late 18th century.
Noun
aardvark (plural aardvarks)
- (zoology) A mammal, Orycteropus afer , of the order Tubulidentata , somewhat resembling a pig, common in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It burrows in the ground, and feeds mostly on termites, which it catches with its long, slimy tongue.
Synonyms
- African anteater (scientific), earth pig (common name), ant bear or ant-bear (alternative common name; also used for the giant anteater ), anteater (a more general common name for different species including the aardvark)
Translations
- Afrikaans: erdvark ; aardvark (obsolete)
- Bulgarian: мравояд m
- Chinese: 土豚
- Czech: hrabáč kapský (hrabáč takaru ) m
- Danish: jordsvin n
- Dutch: aardvarken
- Esperanto: orikteropo (genus); orikteropo terporko (species O. afer)
- Estonian: tuhnik
- Farsi: خوك خاكی (khuk-e khaki)
- Finnish: maasika
- French: oryctérope m
- German: Erdferkel n
- Interlingua: orycteropo
- Irish: arcán talún
- Japanese: ツチブタ , アリクイ
- Korean: 땅돼지
- Norwegian: jordsvin
- Portuguese: oricterope , porco-da-terra m
- Russian: трубкозуб m
- Swedish: Myrslok f
Afrikaans
Noun
aardvark
- (obsolete) aardvark
Notes
This word is obsolete; the extant form is erdvark .
