order Carnivora
1
5.6
- noun
- /ˈɔrdər kɑrˈnɪvərə/
- Specialized
- Scientists study the order Carnivora to understand the evolutionary relationships between cats, dogs, and other carnivorous mammals.
Examples
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Bears, which are part of the order Carnivora, have varied diets that include fish, fruits, and small mammals.
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The lion is a well-known member of the order Carnivora and is recognized for its role as a top predator in the ecosystem.
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But to say that the thylacine was the same kind as the dogs in the order Carnivora totally denudes the concept of kind.
Blog text (18) -
Mongooses belong to the mammalian order Carnivora and are most closely related to cats, civets, and hyenas.
Academic text (1990)
Synonyms
1
8.4
A group of mammals that mostly eat meat, like cats, dogs, and bears
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the noun 'order' (a taxonomic grouping) with the taxonomic name 'Carnivora', so its meaning — the taxonomic order called Carnivora — is directly and compositionally derivable from the parts. While somewhat specialized biological vocabulary, this naming pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows both constituents will understand the phrase.
Etymology
Order Carnivora gets its name from Latin: Carnivora comes from words meaning 'meat' and 'to eat', and order means a big 'group' of related animals. So the name gives the image of 'meat-eaters' and explains why this group includes animals like cats, dogs and bears, even if some, like raccoons, eat both.