mammal

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   any warm-blooded vertebrate having the skin more or less covered with hair

   A whale is a mammal, even though it lives in the ocean.

2. 2
   noun

   An animal of the class Mammalia, characterized by being warm-blooded, having hair and producing milk with which to feed its young.

   A whale is a mammal, even though it lives in the ocean.

3. 3
   noun

   A vertebrate with three bones in the inner ear and one in the jaw.

   A whale is a mammal, even though it lives in the ocean.

From Modern Latin Mammalia, coined 1758 by Linnaeus for the class of mammals, from neuter plural of Late Latin mammalis (“of the breast”), from Latin mamma (“breast”), perhaps cognate with mamma (mother).

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