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Meaning of Porcupine | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2
ˈpɔː(ɹ)kjʊˌpaɪn

Definitions

Any of several rodents of either of the taxonomic families Hystricidae (Old World porcupines) or Erethizontidae (New World porcupines), both from the infraorder Hystricognathi, noted for their sharp spines or quills, which are raised when the animal is attacked or surprised.

Equivalents

Afrikaans ystervark
العربية النيّص دلدل شيهم نَيْص
Беларуская дзікабра́з
Català porc espí
Čeština dikobraz
Ελληνικά ακανθόχοιρος
Esperanto histriko
Español puercoespín
Français porc-épic
Gaeilge torcán
ગુજરાતી શાહુડી
Magyar sül
Հայերեն խոզուկ ոզնի
Bahasa Indonesia landak
ქართული მაჩვზღარბა
Қазақша жайра
ខ្មែរ ប្រមា
Latina hystrix
ລາວ ເໝັ້ນ
Bahasa Melayu landak
မြန်မာဘာသာ ဖြူ ဖြူကောင်
Nederlands stekelvarken
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸੇਹ
Português porco-espinho quandu
Română porc spinos
Русский дикобраз
Slovenščina ježevec
Српски dikobraz дикобраз
Svenska piggsvin
Kiswahili nungunungu
ไทย เม่น
Tagalog landak
Türkçe oklu kirpi
Українська дикобраз
Tiếng Việt nhím

Examples

“I have no evidence of grizzlies killing porcupines or vice versa. However, occasionally there is contact and sometimes a grizzly is injured or a porcupine killed, but the latter is rare.”
“In particular, porcupines, hyenas, and leopards are known in Africa to transport bones to particular places.”
“Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) have quills embedded in clusters, whereas in New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) single quills are interspersed with bristles, underfur, and hair. No porcupine can throw its quills, but they detach easily and will remain embedded in an attacker.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
See all B2 English words →

See also

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