4 definitions found From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Hyena \Hy*e"na\, n.; 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.] (Zool.) 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] {Cave hyena}. See under {Cave}. {Hyena dog} (Zool.), 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}. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]: hyena n : doglike nocturnal mammal of Africa and southern Asia that feeds chiefly on carrion [syn: {hyaena}] 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, n. 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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