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Glite Dictionary
Camelidae

Camelidae

1 9.5
A group of animals that includes camels, llamas, and alpacas
  • noun
  • /ˈkæməˌleɪdə/
  • Specialized
: Camelidae
  • Llamas and alpacas, both members of the Camelidae family, are important to Andean cultures.

Examples

  • The Camelidae family includes both camels and llamas.

  • Scientists study the evolution of Camelidae to better understand their unique physiological traits.

  • The Camelidae are well adapted to arid regions across South America and Asia.

  • Did you know that Camelidae are native to South America?

  • The family Camelidae includes familiar animals like the llama and alpaca.

  • Scientists study the Camelidae family to understand the evolution of camels and their relatives.

  • In the Camelidae family, the guanaco is a wild relative of the domesticated llama.

Surface Forms

Camelidae singular
Camelidae plural

Morphology

Camelidae = camel (semi-transparent) = camel + idae

The root 'camel' is obvious, but the suffix '-idae' is a specialized Latin/biological family-forming ending that is not productive in everyday English, so the meaning 'family of' may not be obvious to general learners.

Etymology

The word Camelidae comes from the familiar word camel, from Latin camelus meaning 'camel', and the ending -idae is used to name an animal family. So, Camelidae means the family that includes camels, llamas, alpacas and their close relatives.