Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

aardvark

/ˈɑɹd.vɑɹk/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.39 in modern English

Syllables: aard-vark
IPA: /ˈɑɹd.vɑɹk/

16

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The nocturnal, insectivorous, burrowing mammal Orycteropus afer, of the order Tubulidentata and somewhat resembling a pig. Common in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

Example Sentences

"The aardvark burrows in the ground and feeds mostly on termites, which it catches with its long, slimy tongue."
"If ‘aardvark lover’ has that syntactic structure, then it determinately means “lover of aardvarks."

Etymology

Borrowed from Afrikaans aardvark (now rare), erdvark, from aarde (“earth”, from Middle Dutch aerde) + vark (“pig”, from Middle Dutch varken). Early European colonists in South Africa noticed that the animal was similar to a pig, while aarde hints at the animal's habit of burrowing.

Word Breakdown

Root: *h₁er-, aerde, varken

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɑɹd.vɑɹk/
British English: /ˈɑːd.vɑːk/

Inflected Forms

aardvarks (plural) aard-vark (alternative) erdvark (alternative)

Derived Forms

aardvarking aardvarklike

Phrases

aardvark cucumber Brazilian aardvark aardvark to zymurgy

Synonyms

African anteater antbear ant bear anteater earth pig orycteropus afer

Questions

How do you pronounce aardvark?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɑɹd.vɑɹk/.
What does aardvark mean?: The nocturnal, insectivorous, burrowing mammal Orycteropus afer, of the order Tubulidentata and somewhat resembling a pig. Common in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
Where does aardvark come from?: Borrowed from Afrikaans aardvark (now rare), erdvark, from aarde (“earth”, from Middle Dutch aerde) + vark (“pig”, from Middle Dutch varken). Early European colonists in South Africa noticed that the animal was similar to a pig, while aarde hints at the animal's habit of burrowing.

How to pronounce aardvark

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɑɹd.vɑɹk/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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