Llama
/ˈlɑːmə/noun
A domesticated South American camelid with long wool and a long neck.
Did you know?English got llama through Spanish from Quechua, where the animal’s name was already established long before Europeans arrived in the Americas.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian Andes
Quechua
llama
“the domesticated Andean camelid”
16th Century
Spanish
llama
“the Andean animal name borrowed into Spanish after contact with the Americas”
16th–17th Century
English
llama
“a South American camelid introduced into English from Spanish”
Modern English
English
llama
“a domesticated South American camelid valued for wool and as a pack animal”