Echidnism
/ˈɛkɪdnɪzəm/noun
The condition or quality of being an echidna.
Did you know?The animal’s name was inspired by the spiny, egg-laying creature’s supposed mixture of traits, linking it to Echidna, the serpent-bodied monster and mother of monsters in Greek mythology.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁egʷʰis
“A reconstructed word for snake or serpent.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἔχις (ékʰis)
“A viper or venomous snake.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἔχιδνα (ékʰidna)
“A viper; later the serpent-bodied monster Echidna in mythology.”
1792
New Latin
Echidna
“The zoological genus name for the spiny, egg-laying Australian mammal.”
19th Century
English
echidnism
“The state or quality of being an echidna, formed from echidna with the suffix -ism.”
Modern English
English
echidnism
“A rare zoological noun describing echidna-like identity or characteristics.”