Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
vicugna

vicugna

9.9
A small wild animal from the Andes related to camels that people value for its very soft wool
  • noun
  • /vɪˈkuːnjə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vicuña
  • The vicugna is prized for the fine quality of its fleece, which is among the softest in the world.

Examples

  • Unlike llamas, the vicugna remains largely undomesticated and lives in high-altitude regions.

  • Conservation efforts have helped the population of wild vicugnas recover in parts of the Andes.

  • The vicugna roams freely in the Andes.

  • Many farmers raise vicugnas for their wool.

  • The vicugna is prized for the fine quality of its fleece, which is among the softest in the world.

  • Conservation efforts have helped the population of wild vicugnas recover in parts of the Andes.

  • Unlike llamas, the vicugna remains largely undomesticated and lives in high-altitude regions.

Synonyms

vicuna
vsvicugna
1 9.9

A small wild South American animal like a llama with very soft wool

uses the camel family label rather than naming a close relative

Surface Forms

vicugna singular
vicugnas plural

Etymology

The word vicugna comes from the local Andean name, seen in Spanish as vicuña, that people used for this small, wild 'camel' of the high Andes. Because this name was the local name for the animal, vicugna today still means the wild, high-altitude mammal known for its very soft wool.