chinchilla

[ chin-chil-uh ]
/ tʃɪnˈtʃɪl ə /

noun

a small, South American rodent, Chinchilla laniger, raised for its soft, silvery gray fur: now rare in the wild.
the fur of this animal.
something, as a coat or jacket, made of chinchilla fur: a floor-length chinchilla.
a thick, napped, woolen fabric for coats.

Origin of chinchilla

1595–1605; < Spanish, perhaps, equivalent to chinche chinch + -illa < Latin -illa diminutive suffix

Example sentences from the Web for chinchilla

British Dictionary definitions for chinchilla

chinchilla
/ (tʃɪnˈtʃɪlə) /

noun

a small gregarious hystricomorph rodent, Chinchilla laniger, inhabiting mountainous regions of South America: family Chinchillidae. It has a stocky body and is bred in captivity for its soft silvery grey fur
the highly valued fur of this animal
mountain chinchilla or mountain viscacha any of several long-tailed rodents of the genus Lagidium, having coarse poor quality fur
a breed of rabbit with soft silver-grey fur
a thick napped woollen cloth used for coats

Word Origin for chinchilla

C17: from Spanish, perhaps from Aymara