fennec

[ fen-ek ]

/ ˈfɛn ɛk /

noun

a small, pale yellowish-brown fox, Fennecus zerda, of northern Africa, having large, pointed ears.

Nearby words

fengtien, fenian, fenian cycle, fenland, fenman, fennec, fennel, fennelflower, fenny, fenoprofen, fenrir

Origin of fennec

1780–90; < Arabic fanak < Persian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fennec

The fennec spends the heat of the day comfortably curled up in its burrow, with its nose tucked away under its big bushy tail.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
The fennec is a creature of the desert, and lives in burrows which it scoops out in the sand.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
And yet, correctly speaking, it was not a fox neither, but a fennec.
The Young Yagers|Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for fennec

fennec

/ (ˈfɛnɛk) /

noun

a very small nocturnal fox, Fennecus zerda, inhabiting deserts of N Africa and Arabia, having pale fur and enormous ears

Word Origin for fennec

C18: from Arabic fenek fox

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fennec

fennec

fox-like animal of Africa, 1790, from Arabic fenek, fanak "a name vaguely applied to various fur-bearing animals" [OED].