1. A nocturnal, insectivorous, or insect eating, burrowing, mammal somewhat resembling a pig, which is common in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa: One night, the tourists in South Africa saw aardvarks near their camping site with long ears, tubular noses, and long extensible tongues and the tourist guide told them that the aardvarks usually ate ants, termites, and other insects.
2. Etymology: from South African Dutch; which comes from aarde, "earth" + vark, "pig".