llama

UK/ˈlɑː.mə/US/ˈlɑmə/

nounB1+Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,103 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: llamas

A llama is a South American animal kept for its wool; it sometimes spits. A pack llama, llamas in the field, the llama spat.

It was the only large pack animal in the Americas before Europeans arrived, which shaped how the Inca empire moved goods — no wheels and no horses. Spitting is mostly aimed at other llamas over food. The name came from Quechua through Spanish.

Definitions of llama

1nounllamaA South American pack animal kept for its wool.B1+
“The llama carried our bags up the steep mountain path.”

llama is an animal.

Also accepted in games: alpaca

Where it comes from

Spanish llama comes from Quechua llama, the Andean name of the animal.

Quechua
llama
Spanish
llama
English, today
llama

Borrowed from Spanish llama, from Quechua llama.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Animals

Practise this word

llama in the wild

As of 2007, there were over seven million llamas and alpacas in South America.
Llama
Some were imported to the United States and Canada late in the 20th century; their descendants now number more than 158,000 llamas and 100,000 alpacas.
Llama
The aim was to create an animal capable of higher wool production than the llama, with the size and strength of a camel and a cooperative temperament.
Cama (animal)
The misti is a similar hybrid, a cross between a male alpaca and a female llama.
Huarizo
The most common hybrid between South American camelids, huarizo tend to be much smaller than llamas, with longer fibre.
Huarizo

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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