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wolf |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Wolf \Wolf\, n.; pl {Wolves}. [OE. wolf, wulf, AS wulf; akin to OS wulf, D. & G. wolf, Icel. [=u]lfr, Sw ulf, Dan. ulv, Goth. wulfs Lith. vilkas, Russ. volk', L. lupus, Gr ly`kos, Skr. v[.r]ka; also to Gr "e`lkein to draw, drag, tear in pieces. [root]286. Cf {Lupine}, a., {Lyceum}.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of wild and savage carnivores belonging to the genus {Canis} and closely allied to the common dog. The best-known and most destructive species are the European wolf ({Canis lupus}), the American gray, or timber, wolf ({C. occidentalis}), and the prairie wolf, or coyote. Wolves often hunt in packs, and may thus attack large animals and even man. 2. (Zo["o]l.) One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larv[ae] of several species of beetles and grain moths; as the bee wolf. 3. Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing especially, want starvation; as they toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door. 4. A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries. 5. An eating ulcer or sore. Cf {Lupus}. [Obs.] If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side --Jer. Taylor. 6. (Mus.) a The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament. b In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale. 7. (Textile Manuf.) A willying machine. --Knight. {Black wolf}. (Zo["o]l.) a A black variety of the European wolf which is common in the Pyrenees. b A black variety of the American gray wolf. {Golden wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the Thibetan wolf ({Canis laniger}); -- called also {chanco}. {Indian wolf} (Zo["o]l.), an Asiatic wolf ({Canis pallipes}) which somewhat resembles a jackal. Called also {landgak}. {Prairie wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the coyote. {Sea wolf}. (Zo["o]l.) See in the Vocabulary. {Strand wolf} (Zo["o]l.) the striped hyena. {Tasmanian wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the zebra wolf. {Tiger wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the spotted hyena. {To keep the wolf from the door}, to keep away poverty; to prevent starvation. See {Wolf}, 3, above. --Tennyson. {Wolf dog}. (Zo["o]l.) a The mastiff, or shepherd dog, of the Pyrenees, supposed by some authors to be one of the ancestors of the St Bernard dog. b The Irish greyhound, supposed to have been used formerly by the Danes for chasing wolves. c A dog bred between a dog and a wolf, as the Eskimo dog. {Wolf eel} (Zo["o]l.), a wolf fish. {Wolf fish} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large voracious marine fishes of the genus {Anarrhichas}, especially the common species ({A. lupus}) of Europe and North America. These fishes have large teeth and powerful jaws. Called also {catfish}, {sea cat}, {sea wolf}, {stone biter}, and {swinefish}. {Wolf net}, a kind of net used in fishing, which takes great numbers of fish. {Wolf's peach} (Bot.), the tomato, or love apple ({Lycopersicum esculentum}). {Wolf spider} (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of running ground spiders belonging to the genus {Lycosa}, or family {Lycosid[ae]}. These spiders run about rapidly in search of their prey. Most of them are plain brown or blackish in color. See Illust. in App. {Zebra wolf} (Zo["o]l.), a savage carnivorous marsupial ({Thylacinus cynocephalus}) native of Tasmania; -- called also {Tasmanian wolf}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: wolf n 1: any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs 2: a man who is aggressive in making amorous advances to women [syn: {woman chaser}, {skirt chaser}, {masher}] 3: a cruelly rapacious person [syn: {beast}, {savage}, {brute}, {wildcat}] v : gulp down [syn: {wolf down}] From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Wolf Heb. zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of treachery and cruelty. Jacob's prophecy, "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf" (Gen. 49:27), represents the warlike character of that tribe (see Judg. 19-21). Isaiah represents the peace of Messiah's kingdom by the words "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb" (Isa. 11:6). The habits of the wolf are described in Jer. 5:6; Hab. 1:8; Zeph. 3:3; Ezek. 22:27; Matt. 7:15; 10:16; Acts 20:29. Wolves are still sometimes found in Palestine, and are the dread of shepherds, as of old
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