Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A domesticated South American mammal (Lama pacos), related to the llama and having fine, long wool.
- n. The silky wool of this mammal.
- n. Cloth made from alpaca.
- n. A coat made of this cloth.
- n. A glossy cotton or rayon and wool fabric.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A mammal, the Auchenia pacos, a native of the Andes, especially of the mountains of Chili and Peru. It is so closely allied to the llama that by some it is regarded rather as a smaller variety than as a distinct species. It has been domesticated, and remains also in a wild state. In form and size it approaches the sheep, but has a longer neck. It is valued chiefly for its long, soft, and silky wool, which is straighter than that of the sheep, and very strong. The fiber is small, very soft, pliable, and elastic, and is woven into fabrics of great beauty. The animal's flesh is wholesome.
- n. 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. The material sold under the name of alpaca for women's dresses and other clothing contains now little if any alpaca-wool; it is a fabric of cotton and wool, with a hard and somewhat shining surface, generally, though not always, dyed black.
Wiktionary
- n. A sheep-like animal of the Andes, Vicugna pacos, in the camel family, closely related to the llama, guanaco, and vicuña.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) An animal of Peru (Lama paco), having long, fine, wooly hair, supposed by some to be a domesticated variety of the llama.
- n. Wool of the alpaca.
- n. A thin kind of cloth made of the wooly hair of the alpaca, often mixed with silk or with cotton.
WordNet 3.0
- n. domesticated llama with long silky fleece; believed to be a domesticated variety of the guanaco
- n. wool of the alpaca
- n. 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 Spanish, from Aymara allpaca. (Wiktionary)
- American Spanish, from Aymara allpaca. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The late Jonathan Silver, and now his widow, brother and daughters, revived Titus Salt's spirit at Saltaire, the factory village built on the proceeds of learning to spin alpaca which other textile specialists believed impossible.”
The Guardian: A life lesson from the late, great Jimi Heselden
“Did you know that a baby alpaca is called a “cria” or that a group of cheetahs is known as a “coalition”?”
“I've started on the alpaca, which is Ace-colored and amuses me.”
“A decade ago, Mr. Ferla innovated the use of baby alpaca, which is softer than cashmere.”
The Wall Street Journal: In Italy's Mills, a New Spin Emerges
“The alpaca is a small animal from the camel family with a soft, lush coat.”
“The wool of the llama, alpaca, and vicuña is used in manufacture of the cloth known as alpaca, and the value of the shipments to Great Britain usually exceeds one million dollars a year.”
Commercial Geography A Book for High Schools, Commercial Courses, and Business Colleges
“Today I went to another market with my teacher and saw some of the beautiful things that the locals make; its a lot of products made from alpaca and baby alpaca, which is very soft.”
“The alpaca is a little fuzzy and makes up the yoke.”
“' People with allergies can usually wear llama or alpaca, which is from the same family, but much smaller, '' said Larson.”
“They also make excellent guard animals for smaller beasts, such as alpaca or sheep.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘alpaca’.
-
SCIE - EU nomenclature
All the scientific words found in the official EU nomenclature. For the screening I used Vocabgrabber of the Visual Thesaurus.
abdominal, absorbent, accelerator, accumulator, acebutolol, acetamide, acetanilide, acetate, acetic acid, acetone, acetous, acetyl and 1171 more...
-
Unknown
coalition, cabinet, tweet, defuse, steep, ancestral, mindset, breach, infraction, egregious, curb, backbite and 282 more...
-
Rare Words - A
Not just rare words, but thousands of RARE WORDS WITH DEFINITIONS.
If you want to see the definitions, too, go to
http://phrontistery.i...aba, abacinate, abactor, abaculus, abaft, abampere, abapical, abarticular, abasement, abasia, abask, abatis and 1214 more...
-
IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
veal, valve, used, yak, wax, wan, teak, vat, vas, strip, use, strap and 4515 more...
-
phrontistery - a
from phrontistery.info
axilla, avalement, argil, argent, argand, arete, aretaics, areometer, areology, arenoid, arenaceous, arefy and 1214 more...
-
tHe Best Animals Ever
giraffe, elepant, cattle, water buffalo, langur monkey, baboon, lion, antelope, cheetah, tapeworm, kangaroo, bullfrog and 102 more...
-
Cool Words
Cool Words!
awesome, alpaca, waffle, schpazam!, whisper, pants, goo, pantsful, roundhand, socks, cell phone, accent and 2 more...
-
Animals (besides pottos)
.
robin, wagtail, frog, bunny, pronk, rabbit, fur, badger, mouse, bee, crepuscular, purr and 140 more...
-
parody's Words
defenestrate, behemoth, floss, macchiato, glom, emu, alpaca, crocheted, ampersand, charade, conflate, salacious and 193 more...
-
Weaverly Words
Words that relate to, or come from, the weaving trade.
Weave, Warp, Weft, Loom, Weaver, Weaving, woven, handwoven, twill, tabby, plainweave, sleazy and 95 more...
-
artoparts's Words
illation, finite, edify, abide, abrade, vouch, amiss, vociferate, perusing, techantiquery, rigamarole, holon and 615 more...
-
mandarine's Words
antepenultimate, metonymy, synecdoche, pop, kern, inherit, clique, scrumptious, macerate, murmur, kerning, veranda and 1068 more...
-
Spelling Bee list 2011
Abalone, ablution, absolution, aboriginally, abstemious, academician, acclamation, accommodation, acculturation, acetic, acetone, acme and 590 more...
-
Hedgepiglet
Words for things both tangible and nonanthropic
rorqual, vellus, wrasse, rainbow bee-eater, tinkershire, lemonquat, boomslang, tufted vetch, cubeb, nipplefruit, madapple, wad and 447 more...
-
Words Covered in Faery Dust (A)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
abalone, abbey, abundant, aconite, acorn, addled, adept, aeon, aerie, aglow, ague, aire and 99 more...
-
1906 Railway Cipher Code
Terms from the Standard Cipher Code of the American Railway Association, 1906. The terms were shorthand for common phrases used in telegraphic communications between station agents and Railway Asso...
abdominal, abetting, abiology, ablative, abnormal, abominate, aboveboard, abrasive, absinth, abstinent, accursed, acetate and 212 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for alpaca.

hernesheir US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906: telegraphers' shorthand for "Insist on the adoption of the agreement as advised". Jan 19, 2013
alpacalover u kno what.... alpacas are awesome!! Jan 31, 2010
reesetee 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. :-) Jun 20, 2008
Prolagus If you like llamas, you can go to Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
(* Sorry, it's in Italian. I took this picture in the suburbs of Vaduz.) Jun 20, 2008
asativum 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?) Jun 20, 2008
Prolagus I'm planning to breed woodlice* as pets. Seriously, I love woodlice.
(* easier than totoros, anyway.) Jun 20, 2008
bilby I'm a worm farmer :-> You guys can come over and pat them any time you want. Jun 20, 2008
reesetee 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. Jun 19, 2008
chained_bear 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. Jun 19, 2008