overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

armadillo.

Any of the burrowing mammals in the families Dasypodidae, Chlamyphoridae, Tolypeutidae and Euphractidae in the order Cingulata, found in the Americas, especially South America, and covered with bony, jointed protective plates.

9 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɑɹməˈdɪloʊ/General-American/ɑːməˈdɪləʊ/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Any of the burrowing mammals in the families Dasypodidae, Chlamyphoridae, Tolypeutidae and Euphractidae in the order Cingulata, found in the Americas, especially South America, and covered with bony, jointed protective plates.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- Proto-Indo-European *h₂(e)rmos Proto-Italic *armosder. Latin arma Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin armō ▲ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Latin armātus Old Spanish armado Spanish armado Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -ellus Old Spanish -iello Spanish -illo Spanish armadillobor. English armadillo Borrowed from Spanish armadillo, diminutive of armado (“armored”), in reference to its protective plates.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

armadillo has 9 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

armadillo studioarmadillo workshello, armadillo

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.