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DictionaryRoot: chinchilla
Spanish

chinchilla

chinchilla; literally little bug

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A single gray chinchilla in three-quarter side view on a small rocky ledge, with dense plush fur, large rounded ears, long whiskers, compact body, and a bushy curved tail clearly visible.
noun

chinchilla

chin-CHIL-uh/tʃɪnˈtʃɪlə/

A small South American rodent with exceptionally soft fur.

Etymology
chinchillaSpanishchinchilla; literally little bug

Spanish chinchilla literally means “little bug,” but the rodent’s name may be a folk-etymological reshaping of a Quechua or Aymara word. The apparent bug connection therefore may not explain the original naming.

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