Definitions

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

  • noun Any of several long-tailed, scale-covered mammals of the order Pholidota of tropical Africa and Asia, having a long snout and a sticky tongue for catching and eating ants and termites.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A scaly ant-eater; a phatagin; any edentate quadruped of the genus Manis or the family Manidæ (which see). Also pangaling, pangolin.
  • noun [capitalized] [NL.] A genus of pangolins. Also Pangolinus (Rafinesque).

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

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of Manis, Pholidotus, and related genera, found in Africa and Asia. They are covered with imbricated scales, and feed upon ants. Called also scaly ant-eater.

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

  • noun The scaly anteater; any of several long-tailed, scale-covered mammals of the order Pholidota of tropical Africa and Asia

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

  • noun toothless mammal of southern Africa and Asia having a body covered with horny scales and a long snout for feeding on ants and termites

Etymologies

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

[Malay pengguling, something that rolls up : peng-, n. pref. + -guling, to roll (from its habit of rolling up into a ball when frightened).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Malay pengguling.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Aww. Or wait... Awwwww!!

    March 17, 2008

  • Ooh. This one's a great photo.

    March 17, 2008

  • First of all -- how is that a mammal? Second, *korf*

    August 7, 2008

  • Oh stop. It's adorable.

    August 7, 2008

  • Adorable to an armadillo, or a mole, or a stegosaurus, maybe.

    August 7, 2008

  • We are all pangolins, according to Weirdnet def. 2.

    August 8, 2008

  • I would be proud of being a pangolin.

    August 8, 2008

  • Ich bin ein Pangolin!

    Edit: Actually, the German word would be Schuppentier ("scale-beast") or Tannenzapfentier ("pinecone-beast").

    I am a pinecone-beast!

    August 8, 2008

  • This from Wikipedia: "The pangolin is often compared to a walking pine cone or globe artichoke."

    Edit: link added

    August 8, 2008

  • citation needed

    August 8, 2008

  • Walking pinecones are often found in close proximity to pangolins. It's convergent evolution.

    August 8, 2008

  • Ooh, neat! I want to be a walking pinecone!

    August 8, 2008

  • "I'm a little pinecone, short and stout!

    Here is my scaly tail, here is my snout! …"

    August 8, 2008

  • *sings with rolig*

    "When you tip me o-verr, hear me..."

    Wait. What kind of noise do pangolins make?

    edit: I rather think the tag is somewhat misplaced...

    August 8, 2008

  • Pangolins snuffle.

    "When you tip me o-verr, hear me snuffle,

    Pick! me up and feed me a truffle."

    August 8, 2008

  • Hahaha! Oh yarb, that'll be in my head for the next 24 hours. I just know it.

    P.S. Yes, the tag is a little harsh....

    August 8, 2008

  • yarb, sheer brilliance!

    August 8, 2008

  • Yarb - such a charming earworm - 10 gold stars.

    I wrote a report on pangolins in the 7th grade because they are teh alsome.

    August 8, 2008

  • Sorry. Not cute. "Scale Beast" pretty much sums it up.

    August 8, 2008

  • Am I the only one who thinks pangolin is a rather medieval-sounding word? I can just see our noble pangolin sitting under a baldachin and surrounded by paladins. And then she starts to sing …

    August 8, 2008

  • Yes! And while the mangonels batter at the ramparts, our friend tours the castle ensconced in a palanquin.

    August 8, 2008

  • Even if you think it's an ugly animal, though, why would it make you want to hork? What's horkful about it? It isn't a food or anything. And there's nothing really disgusting about the conversation on the page, either (oddly enough... I knew something was odd about this page!) Are we putting a hork alert tag on concepts we dislike as well as pages with comments on them that can gross people out?

    August 8, 2008

  • Sorry, tag police. *sigh*

    August 8, 2008

  • Almost certainly pangolins are a food somewhere or other. And therefore horkworthy.

    August 8, 2008

  • Noooooo. Just because an aminal is not cute doesn't mean it automatically deserves a hork tag. I call tag abuse!

    August 8, 2008

  • *passes yarbolin a truffle*

    August 8, 2008

  • I wasn't trying to be tag police, just asking an honest question.

    August 8, 2008

  • It's insensitive remarks like these that propagate manis depression. :'(

    If you accidentally mistook a pangolin for your mandolin, I imagine it would sound like one of those scrubby washboard things.

    August 8, 2008

  • Here's an honest answer. In my opinion, a hairless, toothless animal that looks like a mole with scales and that eats ants and termites does not induce the warm-fuzzies in me and actually give me a case of the willies.

    A thousand apologies for being offensive. I was under the mistaken impression that a wordie was free to tag words based on their opinions.

    I'm sorry if I hurt feelings. Believe me, you've returned the favor. Thanks, she, for setting me straight.

    Known worldwide for my humorless, heavy-handed, opinionated insesitivity, I will do all of you, especially the bear, a big favor and retire from word game activities.

    It's been fun. Mostly.

    August 8, 2008

  • Dontcry, I don't think anyone intended for your feelings to be hurt, nor for you to retire from Wordie. However, posting a tag--or a comment, or a list, or words--on this site means others will possibly comment on those entries. I'm sure none of us were aware you did not wish us to comment on your tag or your statements here. And as I said already, I was not trying to be "tag police." I agree that it's sometimes hard to enjoy conversations on Wordie, especially when one feels attacked. But I can confidently state on behalf of everyone who commented on this page—especially she, who I know was joking—that making you feel bad was nobody's intention.

    August 8, 2008

  • whoa whoa whoa whoa! Whoa!

    What?

    Dc, no... what?

    No retiring, plzkthx.

    Let's not let this page become another repeat of vegetarian, kk, everyone?

    August 8, 2008

  • I don't think it is a repeat of that page. I think there was simply a misunderstanding here and no intentional anything but plain old conversation.

    August 8, 2008

  • Oh dear! Yes, dontcry, absolutely no offense was taken or intended! Please stay — I wouldn't trade you for a thousand pangolins.

    August 8, 2008

  • I love both pangolins and dontcries. And I bet my head that nobody will let you go, donty!

    August 8, 2008

  • Who or what is a tag policeman or policewoman?

    August 13, 2008

  • There is no such thing.

    August 13, 2008

  • This manis, seen here, looks a lot like a pangolin, or at least a relative of one. Does anyone know for sure if manis is a synonym for pangolin, or just a similar species?

    August 26, 2008

  • See manis (for Wordies who will read this page in 2018).

    August 26, 2008

  • Well, it's 2018 in about half the world now, Pro.3 hours left for me.

    December 31, 2017