Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of several burrowing rodents of the genus Dasyprocta, native to tropical America and having a grizzled dark brown to orange coat.
- noun A grizzled coat type in various animals that is produced by alternate bands of light and dark color on each hair shaft.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The American name of several species of rodent mammals of the genus Dasyprocta and family Dasyproctidæ.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A rodent of the genus Dasyprocta, about the size of a rabbit, peculiar to South America and the West Indies. The most common species is the
Dasyprocta agouti . - noun the color of the agouti{1}, a grayish-brown of grizzled texture; -- used especially to describe the color of the fur of a strain of mice. Also used attributively.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
rodent similar in appearance to aguinea pig but having longerlegs . - noun A
fur containing a pattern ofpigmentation in which individualhairs have several bands of light and dark pigment with black tips; any of severalgenes responsible for this pigmentation
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun agile long-legged rabbit-sized rodent of Central America and South America and the West Indies; valued as food
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Now the agouti is a very large rodent from Central and South America.
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The agouti is a little animal resembling a rabbit.
Little Journey to Puerto Rico : for Intermediate and Upper Grades For Intermediate and Upper Grades Marian M. George
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Up to this point, the best way to study epigenetic effects has been a strain of mice known as agouti viable yellow.
Scientific American 2010
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Mammalian introductions have occurred periodically in this region and include species such as agouti (Dasyprocta agouti), fallow deer (Dama dama) to provide game, the indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) and the inadvertent importation of rats (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus).
Guadeloupe 2009
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More common are species such as agouti (Dasyprocta agouti), fallow deer (Dama dama) to provide game, the indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) and the inadvertent importation of the black or roof rat and the brown or Norway rat (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus).
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Mammalian introductions have occurred periodically in this region and include species such as agouti (Dasyprocta agouti), fallow deer (Dama dama) to provide game, the indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) and the inadvertent importation of rats (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus).
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Do you know of the nutritional value of certain rodent/varmint nutria, agouti, and guinea pig make marvelous Easter brunch …
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Darwin provides examples such as the rhea and ostrich, agouti and rabbit, coypu and beaver, capybara and muskrat.
Convergence 2008
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The researchers started out with two groups of agouti mice, a strain of mice with yellow fur, fat bodies, and a predisposition to diabetes and cancer.
Origins Annie Murphy Paul 2010
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But now we know that agouti mice have the appearance and physiology they do because a certain gene, the agouti gene, is being continuously expressed.
Origins Annie Murphy Paul 2010
treeseed commented on the word agouti
a grizzled color of fur resulting from the barring of each hair in several alternate dark and light bands, typically seen in small animals such a rodents
January 25, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word agouti
a.k.a. long-nosed cavy.
August 26, 2008