Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A domesticated South American ruminant mammal (Vicugna pacos or Lama pacos), related to the llama and having fine, long wool.
  • noun The silky wool of this mammal.
  • noun Cloth made from alpaca.
  • noun A fabric that imitates alpaca, made from various natural or synthetic fibers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A mammal, the Auchenia pacos, a native of the Andes, especially of the mountains of Chili and Peru.
  • noun A fabric manufactured from the hair or wool of the alpaca, either wholly or in part, or made in imitation of this, used for clothing in warm climates, for coat-linings, and very largely for umbrellas.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) An animal of Peru (Lama paco), having long, fine, wooly hair, supposed by some to be a domesticated variety of the llama.
  • noun Wool of the alpaca.
  • noun A thin kind of cloth made of the wooly hair of the alpaca, often mixed with silk or with cotton.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A sheep-like animal of the Andes, Vicugna pacos, in the camel family, closely related to the llama, guanaco, and vicuña.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun domesticated llama with long silky fleece; believed to be a domesticated variety of the guanaco
  • noun wool of the alpaca
  • noun a thin glossy fabric made of the wool of the Lama pacos, or made of a rayon or cotton imitation of that wool

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[American Spanish, from Aymara and Quechua allpaqa.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish, from Aymara allpaca.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Hey! Why isn't this on one of my lists already?! *indignant*

    BTW, I work with someone who is an alpaca farmer. In his spare time.

    June 20, 2008

  • A glaring omission, c_b.

    I'd love to be able to say that I'm an alpaca farmer in my spare time. Not that I'd want to do it, but it would be fun to say.

    June 20, 2008

  • I'm a worm farmer :-> You guys can come over and pat them any time you want.

    June 20, 2008

  • I'm planning to breed woodlice* as pets. Seriously, I love woodlice.

    (* easier than totoros, anyway.)

    June 20, 2008

  • Reesetee, why can't you say you're an alpaca farmer whenever you want? You might get some funny looks from the alpacas, I suppose.

    (Wood has lice?)

    June 20, 2008

  • If you like llamas, you can go to Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

    (* Sorry, it's in Italian. I took this picture in the suburbs of Vaduz.)

    June 20, 2008

  • Asativum, I suppose I could do that. As long as the alpacas don't catch on.

    Prolagus, you're weird. I like that in a person. :-)

    June 20, 2008

  • u kno what.... alpacas are awesome!!

    January 31, 2010

  • US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906: telegraphers' shorthand for "Insist on the adoption of the agreement as advised".

    January 19, 2013