javelina
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of javelina
An Americanism dating back to 1815–25; from Latin American Spanish jabalina, from Spanish: feminine of jabalín “wild boar,” dialectal variant of jabalí, from Arabic (khinzīr) jabalī “mountain (boar)”
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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Behrends, who lives nearby, said the desert hills are so quiet that some residents leave their homes unlocked, and the most excitement they see is wildlife, including rattlesnakes and wild javelina pigs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
“They’ve both grown up with firearms, and a lot of their, like, really positive memories involve firearms,” he said, describing the family’s pursuit of elk, deer, javelina and quail for food.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
If Seven Canyons really wants to prevent the javelina from snatching up their turf, the best thing it can do is stop chugging massive amounts of water in the middle of a desert preserve.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2023
The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were javelin and javelina.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2022
The only thing that showed up, however, was a little band of javelina hogs, and I knew better than to shoot them.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
The difference in the ways we kids talked about the javelinas and the way my parents and neighbors did was worlds away.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024
There’s a chapter called “Javelina Sunset,” which is about javelinas coming into the park looking for food.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024
So far, the javelinas have hit eight spots on the course, from all sides.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2023
In his interviews with investigators, Mark Sheppard said he and his brother had been out looking to shoot animals and thought they had spotted some javelinas, similar to wild hogs.
From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2022
The javelinas moved away, and I saw some bobwhite quail feed into the opening around the Licks.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
