vulpine

American  

[vuhl-pahyn, -pin] / ˈvʌl paɪn, -pɪn /

adjective

1. of or resembling a fox.

2. cunning or crafty.

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vulpine British  

/ ˈvʌlpaɪn /

adjective

1. Also: vulpecular.  of, relating to, or resembling a fox

2. possessing the characteristics often attributed to foxes; crafty, clever, etc

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Etymology

Origin of vulpine

First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin vulpīnus, equivalent to vulp(ēs) “fox” + -īnus adjective suffix; see origin at -ine ¹; from the same root as Greek alṓpēx and alōpós “fox”

Explanation

You may encounter a vulpine smile, a vulpine movie director, or a vulpine laugh — whatever it is, be on guard. The word vulpine describes something that is crafty like a fox. The word vulpine traces back to the word vulpes, the Latin word for “fox,” and the word can be used literally to describe something directly related to a fox. Nowadays, however, you’re more likely to hear it used to describe something that has the characteristics of a fox. Many cultures associate the fox with cunning and shrewdness, and the word vulpine has come to be used to describe something that has a crafty, intelligent, slightly predatory quality.

Example Sentences

Ensemble Vulpine Lupin performed “Gravity of Shadows,” a mesmerizing study in tenebrous shades and timbres by Morgan Krauss, a young composer from Columbia College.

From New York Times • Dec. 18, 2012

N. B. Some of the early impressions of the plates have erroneously Wulpine Oppossum for Vulpine Opossum.

From The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay With an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island (1789) by Phillip, Arthur

It is since dead, and the teeth are found to be disposed as now stated, and as represented in the scull of the Vulpine Opossum, in the same plate with that of the Kanguroo.

From The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay With an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island (1789) by Phillip, Arthur

My disparagement of heaths and highlands—if I said any such thing in half earnest,—you must put down as a piece of the old Vulpine policy.

From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 6 Letters 1821-1842 by Lamb, Mary

The true Vulpine Opossum—which is a native of Australia, near Port Jackson—is very much like a small fox; but there are two sub-genera of the phalangers that differ much from this form.

From Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found A Book of Zoology for Boys by Harvey, William