Bandicoot
/ˈbændiˌkut/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of various small marsupials of Australia and New Guinea, some with distinctive long snouts, of the family Peramelidae.
- 2 any of various agile ratlike terrestrial marsupials of Australia and adjacent islands; insectivorous and herbivorous wordnet
- 3 A bandicoot rat; any of the genera Bandicota and Nesokia of rat-like rodents of southeast Asia.
Verb
- 1 To steal growing root vegetables from a garden by digging the vegetable out but leaving the tops undisturbed. Australia, informal
Example
More examples"Experts have said cats have been a “major cause of decline” for many endangered marsupials, including the bilby, bandicoot, bettong and numbat."
Etymology
Ultimately from Telugu పందికొక్కు (pandikokku), from పంది (pandi, “pig, boar”) + కొక్కు (kokku, “bandicoot”); first used of Asian murids, now called bandicoot rats, thence applied to the Australian marsupials which bear some resemblance.