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Glite Dictionary
New World porcupine

New World porcupine

6.3
A porcupine from the Americas that lives in trees and has a tail that can hold branches
  • noun
  • /nuː wɜrld ˈpɔrkjʊpaɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : puercoespín del Nuevo Mundo
  • The New World porcupine spends most of its life in the branches of trees.

Examples

  • Unlike its Old World relatives, the New World porcupine has a prehensile tail to help it climb.

  • Biologists observed a New World porcupine feeding on bark during the night.

  • The New World porcupine is known for its quills.

  • Did you see the New World porcupine at the zoo?

  • Biologists observed a New World porcupine feeding on bark during the night.

  • The New World porcupine spends most of its life in the branches of trees.

  • Unlike its Old World relatives, the New World porcupine has a prehensile tail to help it climb.

Synonyms

porcupine
vsNew World porcupine
28 2.8

A large animal with sharp quills on its back that protect it

is a member found in the Americas that usually lives in trees

Surface Forms

New World porcupine singular
New World porcupines plural

Morphology

New + world + porcupine

This is a transparent compositional noun phrase: 'New World' (the Americas) simply specifies the geographic provenance of the head noun 'porcupine'. A B1 learner who knows the words 'new', 'world' and 'porcupine' can readily infer it denotes a porcupine from the Americas, since place-name + animal patterns are cross-linguistically common and predictable.

Etymology

New World porcupine: The name New World porcupine comes from explorers who called the Americas the 'New World' and from porcupine, the spiky rodent. So it means a porcupine from the 'Americas' that often lives in trees and uses a strong tail to hold branches.