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bandicoot

UK/ˈbændɪˌkuːt/US/ˈbændiˌkut/

noun

What it means

  1. Any of various small marsupials of Australia and New Guinea, some with distinctive long snouts, of the family Peramelidae.

    At the rustle of a bandicoot we noticed the upraised gleam of eyes around the fires.

    1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 149
  2. A bandicoot rat; any of the genera Bandicota and Nesokia of rat-like rodents of southeast Asia.

In a sentence

At the rustle of a bandicoot we noticed the upraised gleam of eyes around the fires.

1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 149

Where it comes from

  1. Teluguపందికొక్కు
  2. Englishbandicoot

Ultimately from Telugu పందికొక్కు (pandikokku), from పంది (pandi, “pig, boar”) + కొక్కు (kokku, “bandicoot”); first used of Asian murids, now called bandicoot rats, thence applied to the Australian marsupials which bear some resemblance.

Full entry for bandicoot →

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