Definitions for mammal
ˈmæm əlmam·mal

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.7 / 12 votes

1. mammal, mammaliannoun

   any warm-blooded vertebrate having the skin more or less covered with hair; young are born alive except for the small subclass of monotremes and nourished with milk

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.2 / 5 votes

1. mammalnoun

   An animal of the class Mammalia, characterized by being warm-blooded, having hair and feeding milk to its young.

2. mammalnoun

   A vertebrate with three bones in the inner ear and one in the jaw.

3. Etymology: Modern Latin Mammalia, coined 1758 by for the class of mammals, from neuter plural of mammalis, from mamma, perhaps cognate with mamma (mother).

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Mammal

   Mammals (from Latin mamma, 'breast') are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), and characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which they diverged in the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described. The largest orders are the rodents, bats and Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, moles, shrews, and others). The next three are the Primates (including humans, apes, monkeys, and others), the Artiodactyla (cetaceans and even-toed ungulates), and the Carnivora (cats, dogs, seals, and others). In terms of cladistics, which reflects evolutionary history, mammals are the only living members of the Synapsida; this clade, together with Sauropsida (reptiles and birds), constitutes the larger Amniota clade. The early synapsid mammalian ancestors were sphenacodont pelycosaurs, a group that included the non-mammalian Dimetrodon. At the end of the Carboniferous period around 300 million years ago, this group diverged from the sauropsid line that led to today's reptiles and birds. The line following the stem group Sphenacodontia split into several diverse groups of non-mammalian synapsids—sometimes incorrectly referred to as mammal-like reptiles—before giving rise to Therapsida in the Early Permian period. Mammals originated from cynodonts, an advanced group of therapsids, during the Late Triassic. The modern mammalian orders arose in the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic era, after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, and have been the dominant terrestrial animal group from 66 million years ago to the present. The basic body type is quadruped, and most mammals use their four extremities for terrestrial locomotion; but in some, the extremities are adapted for life at sea, in the air, in trees, underground, or on two legs. Mammals range in size from the 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in) bumblebee bat to the 30 m (98 ft) blue whale—possibly the largest animal to have ever lived. Maximum lifespan varies from two years for the shrew to 211 years for the bowhead whale. All modern mammals give birth to live young, except the five species of monotremes, which are egg-laying mammals. The most species-rich group of mammals, the cohort called placentals, have a placenta, which enables the feeding of the fetus during gestation. Most mammals are intelligent, with some possessing large brains, self-awareness, and tool use. Mammals can communicate and vocalize in several ways, including the production of ultrasound, scent-marking, alarm signals, singing, and echolocation. Mammals can organize themselves into fission-fusion societies, harems, and hierarchies—but can also be solitary and territorial. Most mammals are polygynous, but some can be monogamous or polyandrous. Domestication of many types of mammals by humans played a major role in the Neolithic revolution, and resulted in farming replacing hunting and gathering as the primary source of food for humans. This led to a major restructuring of human societies from nomadic to sedentary, with more co-operation among larger and larger groups, and ultimately the development of the first civilizations. Domesticated mammals provided, and continue to provide, power for transport and agriculture, as well as food (meat and dairy products), fur, and leather. Mammals are also hunted and raced for sport, and are used as model organisms in science. Mammals have been depicted in art since Paleolithic times, and appear in literature, film, mythology, and religion. Decline in numbers and extinction of many mammals is primarily driven by human poaching and habitat destruction, primarily deforestation.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. mammal

   A mammal is a type of vertebrate animal characterized by unique features such as the ability to regulate their own body temperature, possession of hair or fur, and females having mammary glands which produce milk to nourish their young. Most mammals also give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. This class of animals is diverse with species ranging in size from tiny bats and mice to large whales and elephants.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.5 / 6 votes

1. Mammalnoun

   one of the Mammalia

2. Etymology: [L. mammalis belonging to the breast, fr. mamma the breast or pap: cf. F. mammal.]

WikidataRate this definition:2.6 / 5 votes

1. Mammal

   Mammals are a clade of endothermic amniotes. Among the features that distinguish them from the other amniotes, the reptiles and the birds, are hair, three middle ear bones, mammary glands in females, and a neocortex. The mammalian brain regulates body temperature and the circulatory system, including the four-chambered heart. The mammals include the largest animals on the planet, the rorqual whales, as well as some of the most intelligent, such as elephants, some primates and some cetaceans. The basic body type is a four-legged land-borne animal, but some mammals are adapted for life at sea, in the air, in the trees, or on two legs. The largest group of mammals, the placentals, have a placenta which feeds the offspring during pregnancy. Mammals range in size from the 30–40 millimeter bumblebee bat to the 33-meter blue whale. The word "mammal" is modern, from the scientific name Mammalia coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, derived from the Latin mamma. All female mammals nurse their young with milk, which is secreted from special glands, the mammary glands. According to Mammal Species of the World, 5,702 species were known in 2006. These were grouped in 1,229 genera, 153 families and 29 orders. In 2008 the IUCN completed a five-year, 17,000-scientist Global Mammal Assessment for its IUCN Red List, which counted 5,488 accepted species at the end of that period. In some classifications, the mammals are divided into two subclasses: the Prototheria and the Theria, the latter composed of the infraclasses Metatheria and Eutheria. The marsupials comprise the crown group of the Metatheria and therefore include all living metatherians as well as many extinct ones; the placentals likewise constitute the crown group of the Eutheria.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. mammal

   A type of animal.

   The mammals are beautiful to see in their natural habitat.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 8, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Vertebrate

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'mammal' in Nouns Frequency: #2683

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce mammal?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

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   Mark

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   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

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   Karen

   Australian

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   Australian

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How to say mammal in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of mammal in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of mammal in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of mammal in a Sentence

1. Paul Van Helden:

   We have found bovine TB in two dozen mammal species in South Africa and I would guess a form of TB could be found in every mammal, people didn't think it would spread, but it has.

2. Madelaine Atteberry:

   From this specific locality, they collected approximately 420 mammal fossils — and our paper is only the second to publish a new' condylarth' species from this collection, we hypothesize that there are more new species to be identified from this locality.

3. Ohio University paleontologist Haley O'Brien:

   This structure was incredibly surprising, to see a hollow nasal crest outside of dinosaurs and in a mammal that lived so recently is very bizarre.

4. Morgan Churchill:

   Echolocation is probably one of the most remarkable and unique adaptations within mammals. Out of 6,000 mammal species alive today, only bats and toothed whales, along with a very. small number of small insectivores, use echolocation as a major way of navigating their environment.

5. Julie Speegle:

   We are mobilizing to get our marine mammal experts and our partners there to get some samples, it could be a harmful algal bloom. It could be a number of things.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=mammal
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mammal
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammal
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mammal
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=mammal
7. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=mammal