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Jan 27, 2010 This week's theme Words made with combining forms This week's words theogony oligopoly artiodactyl heliolatry hagiography Artiodactyl Toes of a camel (photo: Nancy E. Martinez) Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg artiodactyl PRONUNCIATION: (ahr-tee-o-DAK-til) MEANING: adjective: Having an even number of toes on each foot. ETYMOLOGY: From Greek artio- (even in number, perfect) + -dactyl (toed, fingered). The mammal order Artiodactyla is made up of animals such as pig, camel, and giraffe. Those having an odd number of toes are called perissodactyl, from Greek perisso- (uneven, strange). Examples: horse, tapir, and rhinoceros. USAGE: "Joe Palca: By the way, you may not be aware that the pig is only the second artiodactyl to have its genome sequenced -- the cow came first." Renee Montagne; Scientists Decode DNA of Domestic Pig; Morning Edition; National Public Radio (Washington, DC); Nov 2, 2009. Explore "artiodactyl" in the Visual Thesaurus. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: If God exists, I hope he has a good excuse. -Woody Allen, author, actor, and filmmaker (b. 1935)

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