Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

degu

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.08 in modern English

Syllables: degu
IPA

6

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any species of the genus Octodon, a small, caviomorph rodent native to Chile.

Example Sentences

"Along the trails, degus leave mini-urine puddles marking the trail."
"Dr. Braun used used laboratory rats called degus or brush-tail rats (Octodon degus), a species of rodent closely related to guinea pigs.[…]In their natural environment, degu infants are raised jointly by their father and mother and are extremely communicative, using whistling tones to carry on intensive “conversations.”"
"Degus, or trumpet-tail rats, come from Chile. Taxonomically, they are in the same diverse order as guinea pigs and chinchillas. Degus have been used as laboratory animals for 20 years and in recent years have become popular as pets in the United States and Europe."

Etymology

From the Mapudungun dewü, via South American Spanish degú.

Origin

Source language: Spanish

Word Breakdown

Root: dewü, degú

Inflected Forms

degus (plural)

Phrases

Bridges' degu common degu' Mocha Island degu moon-toothed degu mountain degu Pacific degu

Frequently Paired Words

octodont

Synonyms

brush-tailed rat trumpet-tailed rat

Questions

What does degu mean?: Any species of the genus Octodon, a small, caviomorph rodent native to Chile.
Where does degu come from?: It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce degu

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “degu”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “degu”.
Repeat and practice — Say “degu” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.