Huanaco

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of South American camelid known for its long neck and soft wool, often domesticated for its fiber and meat
2. A grazing animal native to the Andes, closely related to llamas and alpacas, recognized for its adaptability to high altitudes
3. A wild relative of the llama found in mountainous regions, valued for its agility and the quality of its fleece

Etymology: "Huanaco" is simply an alternative spelling of "guanaco", and the word arrived in English from Spanish, which had taken it from Quechua, the language of the Inca Empire. The Quechua form "wanaku" is the source of the Spanish "guanaco", and the spelling with "h" reflects an older or variant way of writing the same Spanish-derived term. The animal itself lived across the Andes long before any European saw it, and the Quechua name passed into Spanish as Spanish speakers in South America adopted it for this wild relative of the llama. English borrowed the term from Spanish, which is why its spelling and sound still carry traces of that Andean origin.

Synonyms: guanaco