vulpine en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈvʌlpaɪn/
- (US) audio
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin vulpīnus (“foxy, fox-like”), from vulpēs, earlier volpēs (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *wl(o)p- (“fox”). Cognate with Welsh llywarn (“fox”), Ancient Greek ἀλώπηξ (alṓpēx), Armenian աղուէս (aġuēs), Albanian dhelpër, Lithuanian vilpišỹs (“wildcat”), Sanskrit लोपाश (lopāśa, “jackal, fox”).
Meanings
-
Pertaining to a fox.
She dared not raise her eyes above the level of the tea-table, and she almost expected to see a spot of accusing vulpine blood drip down and stain the whiteness of the cloth.
1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “The Bag”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 80:
-
Having the characteristics of a fox; foxlike; cunning.
Yet such is the vulpine slyness of Dame Nature, that, till now, Tess had been hoodwinked by her love for Clare into forgetting it might result in vitalizations that would inflict upon others what she had bewailed as misfortune to herself.
1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XXXVI, in Tess of the D’Urbervilles:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most vulpine | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more vulpine | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
vulpinist · vulpinary · vulpinous · vulpinely · vulpinism
Translations (34)
fi kettu- (pertaining to a fox) · el αλεπουδίσιος (pertaining to a fox) · cmn 狐狸的 (pertaining to a fox) · de Fuchs- (pertaining to a fox) · sh lìsičjī (pertaining to a fox) · mk лисичји (pertaining to a fox) · pt vulpino (pertaining to a fox) · nl vossen- (pertaining to a fox) · ru лиси́ный (pertaining to a fox) · ar ثَعْلَبِيّ (pertaining to a fox) · sk líščí (pertaining to a fox) · nl vosachtig (foxlike) · ru лиси́чий (pertaining to a fox) · fr vulpin (pertaining to a fox) · eo vulpa (pertaining to a fox) · bg лиси́чи (foxlike) · sh лѝсичјӣ (pertaining to a fox) · be лісі́ны (pertaining to a fox) · la vulpinus (foxlike) · fr vulpin (foxlike) · bg лиси́чи (pertaining to a fox) · ru ли́сий (foxlike) · ja キツネの (pertaining to a fox) · pl lisi (pertaining to a fox) · eo vulpa (foxlike) · ru ли́сий (pertaining to a fox) · no reveaktig (foxlike) · fi kettumainen (foxlike) · sl lisičji (pertaining to a fox) · cs liščí (pertaining to a fox) · ko 여우의 (pertaining to a fox) · la vulpīnus (pertaining to a fox) · uk лиси́чий (pertaining to a fox) · uk ли́сячий (pertaining to a fox)