Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various small nocturnal leaping rodents of the family Dipodidae of Asia and northern Africa, having long hind legs and a long tufted tail.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A rodent quadruped of the family Dipodidœ, subfamily Dipodinœ, and especially of the genus Dipus; a gerbil, or jumping-mouse of the old world.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any small jumping rodent of the genus Dipus, esp.
Dipus Ægyptius , which is common in Egypt and the adjacent countries. The jerboas have very long hind legs and a long tail. - noun (Zoöl.) small Australian kangaroo (
Bettongia penicillata ), about the size of a common hare.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A small,
mouse -like,jumping rodent (family Dipodidae) resembling a miniaturekangaroo , having a longtufted tail, very small fore feet, but very longhind legs , native to thedeserts of Asia and northern Africa.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun mouselike jumping rodent
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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One who knows anything about the structure of animals 'bodies need not be told that the jerboa is a rodent.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 841, February 13, 1892 Various
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As the new-comer got on his feet again my hope gained new life, and now our jerboa is my delight.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 841, February 13, 1892 Various
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a marsupial which lives in thick, dark forests, where it feeds upon leaves and fruit; and the tarsier, a kind of jerboa, a very harmless, inoffensive little animal with reddish-coloured hair, about the size of a rat, but whose body bears some resemblance to that of an ape.
Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part I. The Exploration of the World Jules Verne 1866
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(most seriously) "jerboa," all small animals, even a medium-sized wallaby might seem large by contrast with a different expectation.
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Sauntering over, he saw that they were inspecting the wares of a very nervous jerboa vegetable seller.
The Lives of Felix Gunderson Sugu Althomsons 2010
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The jerboa fluttered her paws at them, the tall turban atop her head threatening to collapse at any moment.
The Lives of Felix Gunderson Sugu Althomsons 2010
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How shocked was I that so many people knew the animal in question was a jerboa?
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"No wonder that little jerboa thought us unclean, " Buncan added.
The Lives of Felix Gunderson Sugu Althomsons 2010
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There are a few others who aren't quite weird enough, such as Cantor's Giant Soft-Shelled Turtle, the Long-eared jerboa, or Pink fairy Armadillos, but they're definitely strange.
Archive 2008-08-01 Heather McDougal 2008
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There are a few others who aren't quite weird enough, such as Cantor's Giant Soft-Shelled Turtle, the Long-eared jerboa, or Pink fairy Armadillos, but they're definitely strange.
My Own (Borrowed) Menagerie Heather McDougal 2008
bilby commented on the word jerboa
Politicians?
December 13, 2007
reesetee commented on the word jerboa
Unbearably cute.
July 9, 2009