hyena
English
/haɪˈiːnə/
noun
Definitions
- Any of the medium-sized to large feliform carnivores of the subfamily Hyaeninae (genera Hyaena and Crocuta), native to Africa and Asia and noted for the sound similar to laughter which they can make if excited.
- (Sub-Saharan Africa) A man that performs ritualized sex acts with recently widowed women and menarchal girls.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English hiena derived from Latin hyēna, hyaena derived from Ancient Greek ὕαινα (a sow, hyena hyaena).
Origin
Ancient Greek
ὕαινα
Gloss
a sow, hyena hyaena
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- hyenalike English
- hyenic English
- hyenine English
- hyenoid English
- werehyena English
- hyaena Latin
- hyēna Latin
- Hyäne German
- iena Italian
- hyena Dutch, Flemish
- hyène French
- ὕαινα Ancient Greek
- ὗς Ancient Greek
- hyene Norwegian Bokmål
- ハイエナ Japanese
- ブチハイエナ Japanese
- hyene Norwegian Nynorsk
- hiena Middle English
- hyene Old French
- ไฮยีน่า Thai
- ဟိုင်းအီနာ Burmese
- ჰიენა Georgian