Etymology

armadillo

ar·ma·dil·lo
A1R1M3A1D2I1L1L1O1

Today it means: Any of the burrowing mammals in the families Dasypodidae, Chlamyphoridae, Tolypeutidae and Euphractidae in the order Cingulata, found in the Americas, especially South America, and covered with bony, jointed protective plates. Full definition →

Spanish armadillo ← Old Spanish armado ← Latin armātus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂er-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂(e)rmos
  3. Proto-Italic*armos
  4. Latinarma
  5. Latinarmō
  6. Latinarmātus
  7. Old Spanisharmado
  8. Spanisharmado
  9. Spanisharmadillo
  10. English todayarmadillo

Borrowed from Spanish armadillo, diminutive of armado (“armored”), in reference to its protective plates.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.