dog-fox en · NOUN
Etymology
From Middle English dogge fox. By surface analysis, dog + fox.
Meanings
-
A male fox.
Till sung his midnight hymn the owl, / Answer'd the dog-fox with his howl, / Then waked the King—at his request, / Lord Ronald stretch'd himself to rest.
1815, Walter Scott, “Canto Third”, in The Lord of the Isles, a Poem, Edinburgh: […] [F]or Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; by James Ballantyne and Co., […], →OCLC, stanza XXVI, page 115:Hear the lark and harken to the barking of the dog fox / Gone to ground
1969, Roger Waters, “Grantchester Meadows”, in Ummagumma, performed by Pink Floyd, Lupus Music:
- The arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus, and especially the blue fox subspecies.
- Any species of the genus Vulpes.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dog fox | alternative | lexicographic | |
| dogfox | alternative | lexicographic | |
| dog-foxes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
vixen (male fox)