hyena

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: hy=e=na

CIDE DICTIONARY

hyena, n. [L. hyaena, Gr. , orig., a sow, but usually, a Libyan wild beast, prob., the hyena, fr. hog: cf. F. hyène. See Sow female hog.].

 Any carnivorous mammal of the family Hyænidæ, doglike nocturnal mammals of Africa and southern Asia, of which three living species are known. They are large and strong, but cowardly. They feed chiefly on carrion, and are nocturnal in their habits.  [1913 Webster]
" The striped hyena (Hyæna striata) inhabits Southern Asia and a large part of Africa. The brown hyena (Hyæna brunnea), and the spotted hyena (Crocuta maculata), are found in Southern Africa. The extinct cave hyena (Hyæna spelæa) inhabited England and France."  [1913 Webster]

Cave hyena. See under Cave. -- Hyena dog (Zoöl.), a South African canine animal (Lycaon venaticus), which hunts in packs, chiefly at night. It is smaller than the common wolf, with very large, erect ears, and a bushy tail. Its color is reddish or yellowish brown, blotched with black and white. Called also hunting dog.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

hyena, n. (also hyaena) any flesh-eating mammal of the order Hyaenidae, with hind limbs shorter than forelimbs.

Idiom

laughing hyena n. a hyena, Crocuta crocuta, whose howl is compared to a fiendish laugh.

Etymology

ME f. OF hyene & L hyaena f. Gk huaina fem. of hus pig

DEVIL DICTIONARY

hyena

n. A beast held in reverence by some oriental nations from its habit of frequenting at night the burial-places of the dead. But the medical student does that.

THESAURUS

hyena

African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, animal, anthropophagite, barbarian, beast, brush wolf, brute, cannibal, coyote, cur, destroyer, dingo, dog, fox, hound, insect, jackal, lobo, man-eater, medicine wolf, mongrel, nihilist, pig, polecat, prairie wolf, reptile, reynard, savage, serpent, shark, skunk, snake, swine, tiger, timber wolf, vandal, varmint, vermin, viper, whelp, wild man, wolf, worm, wrecker

ROGET THESAURUS

hyena

Evil doer

N evil doer, evil worker, wrongdoer, mischief-maker, marplot, oppressor, tyrant, destroyer, Vandal, iconoclast, firebrand, incendiary, fire bug, pyromaniac, anarchist, communist, terrorist, savage, brute, ruffian, barbarian, semibarbarian, caitiff, desperado, Apache, hoodlum, hood, plug-ugly, Red Skin, tough, Mohawk, Mo-hock, Mo-hawk, bludgeon man, bully, rough, hooligan, larrikin, dangerous classes, ugly customer, thief, cockatrice, scorpion, hornet, snake, viper, adder, snake in the grass, serpent, cobra, asp, rattlesnake, anaconda, canker-worm, wire-worm, locust, Colorado beetle, alacran, alligator, caymon, crocodile, mosquito, mugger, octopus, torpedo, bane, cutthroat, cannibal, anthropophagus, anthropophagist, bloodsucker, vampire, ogre, ghoul, gorilla, vulture, gyrfalcon, gerfalcon, wild beast, tiger, hyena, butcher, hangman, blood-hound, hell- hound, sleuth-hound, catamount, cougar, jaguar, puma, hag, hellhag, beldam, Jezebel, monster, fiend, devil incarnate, demon in human shape, Frankenstein's monster, harpy, siren, Furies, Eumenides, Hun, Attila, scourge of the human race, faenum habet in cornu.