Don't Be Didine!

This blog post originally appeared 2/28/2008.

We all know that "canine" means dog and "feline" means cat, but did you know the rest of these animal adjectives?


Ant: myrmicine
Armadillo: dasypodid
Crocodile: eusuchian
Dodo: didine
Duck: anatine
Duck-billed platypus: monotremal
Flea: pulicine
Flamingo: phoenicopterous
Goat: caprine
Goose: anserine
Louse: pedicular
Mite, tick: acarian

I am going to have to try hard to manage to work in some of these into my everyday vocabulary. Let's see:

He took a phoenicopterous stance while playing hopscotch.
Don't be didine! Of course I love this blog.
That is the lowest, most pedicular thing you have ever done.

Feel free to leave your own adjective-filled comments if you get the urge.

Source: Schott's Almanac 2008 Page-a-Day calendar; Thursday, February 28.