hyaena

[ hahy-ee-nuh ]
/ haɪˈi nə /

noun

hyena.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

OTHER WORDS FROM hyaena

hy·ae·nic, adjective

Words nearby hyaena

hyacinth bean, hyacinthin, hyacinthine, hyacinthus, hyades, hyaena, hyal-, hyalin, hyaline, hyaline body, hyaline cartilage

Definition for hyaena (2 of 2)

hyena

or hy·ae·na

[ hahy-ee-nuh ]
/ haɪˈi nə /

noun

a doglike carnivore of the family Hyaenidae, of Africa, southwestern Asia, and south central Asia, having a coarse coat, a sloping back, and large teeth and feeding chiefly on carrion, often in packs.
Compare brown hyena, spotted hyena, striped hyena.

Origin of hyena

1350–1400; Middle English hiena < Medieval Latin hyēna, Latin hyaena < Greek hýaina, equivalent to hy- (stem of hŷs) hog + -aina feminine suffix; replacing Middle English hyane, hyene < Middle French hiene < Latin

OTHER WORDS FROM hyena

hy·e·nic, hy·e·nine [hahy-ee-nahyn, -nin] /haɪˈi naɪn, -nɪn/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for hyaena

British Dictionary definitions for hyaena (1 of 2)

hyaena
/ (haɪˈiːnə) /

noun

a variant spelling of hyena

Derived forms of hyaena

hyaenic, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for hyaena (2 of 2)

hyena

hyaena

/ (haɪˈiːnə) /

noun

any of several long-legged carnivorous doglike mammals of the genera Hyaena and Crocuta, such as C. crocuta (spotted or laughing hyena), of Africa and S Asia: family Hyaenidae, order Carnivora (carnivores)See also strandwolf

Derived forms of hyena

hyenic or hyaenic, adjective

Word Origin for hyena

C16: from Medieval Latin, from Latin hyaena, from Greek huaina, from hus hog
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