alpaca
pronunciation
How to pronounce alpaca in British English:
UK [ælˈpækə]
How to pronounce alpaca in American English:
US [ælˈpækə]
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- Noun:
- wool of the alpaca
- a thin glossy fabric made of the wool of the alpaca, or a rayon or cotton imitation
- domesticated llama with long silky fleece; believed to be a domesticated variety of the guanaco
Word Origin
- alpaca
- alpaca: [18] English gets the term alpaca (for a South American animal related to the llama) from Spanish, which in turn got it from alpako, the word for the animal in the Aymara language of Bolivia and Peru. Alpako was a derivative of the adjective pako ‘reddish-brown’, a reference to the colour of the animal’s hair.
- alpaca (n.)
- 1792, from Spanish alpaca, probably from Aymara allpaca, related to Quechua p'ake "yellowish-red." The al- is perhaps from influence of Arabic definite article (see almond). Attested in English from 1753 in the form pacos.
Example
- 1. Artiodactyla camelidae non-humped camel ( alpaca ) 1 species of the genus .
- 2. A newborn alpaca named gipsy , at the zoo in magdeburg . Germany .
- 3. However , yvonne the cow , kasimir the alpaca and xaver the bulldog have upset german animal rights activists .
- 4. Now outside the alpaca in south america mainly in the united states , australia and new zealand .
- 5. South american alpaca industry is based on species other than the primary purpose of breeding and purified by means of business .