viscacha

1 of 2

noun (1)

vis·​ca·​cha vi-ˈskä-chə 

variants or vizcacha

: any of several South American burrowing rodents (genera Lagostomus and Lagidium) closely related to the chinchilla

Illustration of viscacha

vizcacha

2 of 2

noun (2)

viz·​ca·​cha

variant spelling of viscacha

: any of several South American burrowing rodents (genera Lagostomus and Lagidium) closely related to the chinchilla

Examples of viscacha in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

While our guide talked, viscachas — Peruvian chinchillas — scurried atop the walls and a quartet of wild llamas gathered on one of the lawns. — Monisha Rajesh, Travel + Leisure, 20 Oct. 2024

And a small South American rodent called the red viscacha has a whopping 104. — Ryan Cross, Science | AAAS, 23 June 2017

Noun

Even the animals feel like something out of a fairytale—the camel-lama-deer hybrid called the guanaco, the bunny-squirrel-cat mix called the vizcacha, and the pumas, who, as the hotel will explain, are always watching. — Teddy Minford, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Spanish vizcacha, from Quechua wisk'acha

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1604, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for viscacha

• caccia
• dacha
• gotcha