 4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
hyena
noun: doglike nocturnal mammal of Africa and southern Asia that
feeds chiefly on carrion [syn: {hyaena}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Hyena \Hy*e"na\, noun; pl. {Hyenas}. [L. hyaena, Gr. ?, orig., a
sow, but usually, a Libyan wild beast, prob., the hyena, fr.
? hog: cf. F. hy['e]ne. See {Sow} female hog.] (Zo["o]l.)
Any carnivorous mammal of the family {Hy[ae]nid[ae]}, doglike
nocturnal mammals of Africa and southern Asia, of which three
living species are known. They are large and strong, but
cowardly. They feed chiefly on carrion, and are nocturnal in
their habits. [Written also {hy[ae]na}.]
Syn: hyaena.
Note: The striped hyena ({Hy[ae]na striata}) inhabits
Southern Asia and a large part of Africa. The brown
hyena ({Hy[ae]na brunnea}), and the spotted hyena
({Crocuta maculata}), are found in Southern Africa. The
extinct cave hyena ({Hy[ae]na spel[ae]a}) inhabited
England and France.
{Cave hyena}. See under {Cave}.
{Hyena dog} (Zo["o]l.), a South African canine animal
({Lycaon venaticus}), which hunts in packs, chiefly at
night. It is smaller than the common wolf, with very
large, erect ears, and a bushy tail. Its color is reddish
or yellowish brown, blotched with black and white. Called
also {hunting dog}.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
45 Moby Thesaurus words for "hyena":
African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, animal, anthropophagite,
barbarian, beast, brush wolf, brute, cannibal, coyote, cur,
destroyer, dingo, dog, fox, hound, insect, jackal, lobo, man-eater,
medicine wolf, mongrel, nihilist, pig, polecat, prairie wolf,
reptile, reynard, savage, serpent, shark, skunk, snake, swine,
tiger, timber wolf, vandal, varmint, vermin, viper, whelp,
wild man, wolf, worm, wrecker
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
HYENA, noun A beast held in reverence by some oriental nations from its
habit of frequenting at night the burial-places of the dead. But the
medical student does that.
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