English

Etymology

Afrikaans, from aarde, earth, and vark , pig; hence "earth-pig". Early European colonists in South Africa noticed that the animal was similar to a pig, while "aarde" hints at the animal's habit of burrowing. The word was loaned from Afrikaans in the late 18th century.

Noun

aardvark (plural aardvarks)

1. (zoology) A mammal, Orycteropus afer , of the order Tubulidentata , somewhat resembling a pig, common in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It burrows in the ground, and feeds mostly on termites, which it catches with its long, slimy tongue.

Synonyms

• African anteater (scientific), earth pig (common name), ant bear or ant-bear (alternative common name; also used for the giant anteater ), anteater (a more general common name for different species including the aardvark)

Translations

• Afrikaans: erdvark ; aardvark (obsolete)
• Bulgarian: мравояд m
• Chinese: 土豚
• Czech: hrabáč kapský (hrabáč takaru ) m
• Danish: jordsvin n
• Dutch: aardvarken
• Esperanto: orikteropo (genus); orikteropo terporko (species O. afer)
• Estonian: tuhnik
• Farsi: خوك خاكی (khuk-e khaki)
• Finnish: maasika
• French: oryctérope m
• German: Erdferkel n
• Interlingua: orycteropo
• Irish: arcán talún
• Japanese: ツチブタ , アリクイ
• Korean: 땅돼지
• Norwegian: jordsvin
• Portuguese: oricterope , porco-da-terra m
• Russian: трубкозуб m
• Swedish: Myrslok f

Afrikaans

Noun

aardvark

1. (obsolete) aardvark

Notes

This word is obsolete; the extant form is erdvark .