thylacine · noun — A carnivorous marsupial (†Thylacinus cynocephalus) which was native to Tasmania, now extinct.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
thylacine is pronounced /ˈθailəsiːn/.
Why “thylacine” is a great word
A carnivorous marsupial (Thylacinus cynocephalus) native to Tasmania, now extinct. From New Latin Thylacinus, from Ancient Greek θύλακος (thúlakos, "pouch, sack") + Latin -inus ("pertaining to"), first attested 1830–40. Unlike the wolf, a placental carnivore, or the smaller, extant Tasmanian devil, the thylacine was a creature of convergence—a marsupial in wolf's clothing. It is the stiff pelt behind museum glass, the brindle shadow in dry forest, the final breath in a concrete cage—the pouch that held nothing, the name now spoken only by those who mourn what they never saw.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From translingual Thylacinus; from Ancient Greek θύλακος (thúlakos, “pouch, sack”) + Latin -inus (-ine).
noun
- A carnivorous marsupial (†Thylacinus cynocephalus) which was native to Tasmania, now extinct.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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