Texas armadillo
- noun
- /ˈtɛksəs ˌɑːrməˈdɪloʊ/
- US
:
armadillo de Texas
- A Texas armadillo can easily be identified by its nine bands of bony plates that cover its back.
Examples
-
Texas armadillos are known for their distinctive armor-like bands.
-
We spotted a Texas armadillo crossing the road during our trip to southern Texas.
-
The Texas armadillo can curl up into a ball as a defense mechanism.
-
The Texas armadillo is known for its unique appearance.
-
Many people are fascinated by the Texas armadillo.
-
While hiking in Texas, we were excited to see a Texas armadillo foraging for insects in the grass.
-
The Texas armadillo is often seen wandering at night, searching for food in the underbrush.
Synonyms
A small animal with nine bands of hard armor that lives in parts of North and South America
An animal with nine hard plates on its back that lives from Texas to South America
A small armadillo with nine bands of hard plates that lives from Texas to Paraguay
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase combines the place name 'Texas' with the animal 'armadillo', so the meaning—an armadillo species or an armadillo associated with Texas—is directly inferable from the constituents. Place+noun naming is a common and transparent compositional pattern across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand this MWE's referent.
Etymology
Texas armadillo is a name made of a place and an animal: Texas shows where people often saw it and armadillo comes from Spanish meaning a 'little armored one'. Because these animals have hard, banded shells and can curl up for defense, the name points to the small, 'armored' mammal now called the nine-banded armadillo.
