Platypi
[plat-i-puh s, -poo s] /ˈplæt ɪ pəs, -ˌpʊs/
noun, plural platypuses, platypi
[plat-i-pahy] /ˈplæt ɪˌpaɪ/ (Show IPA)
1.
a small, aquatic, egg-laying monotreme, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Australia and Tasmania, having webbed feet, a tail like that of a beaver, a sensitive bill resembling that of a duck, and, in adult males, venom-injecting spurs on the ankles of the hind limbs, used primarily for fighting with other males during the breeding season.
/ˈplætɪpəs/
noun (pl) -puses
1.
See duck-billed platypus
n.
Australian duck-mole, 1799, from Modern Latin, from Greek platypous, literally “flat-footed,” from platys “broad, flat” (see plaice (n.)) + pous “foot” (see foot).
Orig. the generic name, but, having already been given to a genus of beetles, it was in 1800 changed for Ornithorhyncus. [OED]
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