armadillo

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a burrowing mammal of the Americas whose body is protected by jointed bony plates

   The armadillo curled defensively when the dog approached.

Borrowed from Spanish armadillo, a diminutive of armado ("armored"), literally "little armored one." The name refers to the animal's protective shell of jointed bony plates. Spanish armado ultimately comes from Latin armare ("to arm, equip").

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