HYENA
What does "HYENA" mean?
A dog-like carnivorous mammal of Africa and Asia, known for its powerful jaws and eerie call.
Meanings
- A carnivorous mammal of the family Hyaenidae, with a sloping back and bone-crushing jaws. A clan of hyenas circled the lion's kill at dusk.
- A cruel, greedy, or contemptible person, used as an insult. The tabloids descended on the scandal like hyenas. figurative
Did you know?
- Spotted hyena society is run by females, who outrank and outweigh the males - and the female's anatomy so closely mimics the male's that early naturalists wrongly believed every hyena could switch sex.
Word origin
From Greek 'hyaina', formed from 'hys' (pig) because the animal's bristly mane reminded the Greeks of a hog's; via Latin 'hyaena' into English.
Remember it
HYENA opens with a 'HY' like a high, eerie laugh - and the laughing hyena is exactly the one you picture.
A little poem
That laugh in the dark
is not a joke - it is hunger
calling to the clan.
haiku
Wordplay
- Why don't hyenas tell their own jokes? They already laugh at everything - it would be impossible to gauge the material.
What it teaches
The animal we mock as a coward runs a matriarchy and cracks bone where lions give up - contempt is a poor field guide.
Quick facts
What does HYENA mean?
A dog-like carnivorous mammal of Africa and Asia, known for its powerful jaws and eerie call.
Is HYENA a valid word?
Yes — HYENA is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is HYENA?
HYENA has 5 letters and 3 syllables.
Where does HYENA come from?
From Greek 'hyaina', formed from 'hys' (pig) because the animal's bristly mane reminded the Greeks of a hog's; via Latin 'hyaena' into English.
What can HYENA teach us?
The animal we mock as a coward runs a matriarchy and cracks bone where lions give up - contempt is a poor field guide.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.