wolf
English
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Front_view_of_a_resting_Canis_lupus_ssp.jpg/220px-Front_view_of_a_resting_Canis_lupus_ssp.jpg)
Etymology
From Middle English wolf, from Old English wulf, ƿulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos. See also Saterland Frisian Wulf, West Frisian and Dutch wolf, German Wolf, Norwegian and Danish ulv; also Sanskrit वृक (vṛ́ka), Persian گرگ (gorg), Lithuanian vilkas, Russian волк (volk), Albanian ujk, Latin lupus, Greek λύκος (lýkos), Tocharian B walkwe). Doublet of lobo and lupus.
Pronunciation
- enPR: wo͝olf
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /wʊlf/
Audio (Received Pronunciation); “a wolf”: (file)
- (General American) IPA(key): /wʊlf/, [wʊ̠ɫf], [wɫ̩f][1]
Audio (General American): (file)
- (New Zealand) IPA(key): /wʊlf/, [wʊwf]
- (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA(key): /wʉlf/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /wʊlf/
- enPR: wo͝of, IPA(key): /wʊf/ (now nonstandard)[1][2]
- enPR: wŭlf, IPA(key): /wʌlf/ (obsolete)
- Rhymes: -ʊlf
Noun
wolf (plural wolves)
- Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily.
- Synonym: grey wolf
- 1968, Robert Conquest, “The Purge Begins”, in The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties[1], Macmillan Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 74:
- He would listen quietly at meetings of the Politburo, or to distinguished visitors, puffing at his Dunhill pipe, doodling aimlessly - his secretaries Poskrebyshev and Dvinsky write that his pads were sometimes covered with the phrase ‘Lenin-teacher-friend’, but the last foreigner to visit him, in February 1953, noted that he was doodling wolves.
- Any of several related canines that resemble Canis lupus in appearance, especially those of the genus Canis.
- A man who makes amorous advances to many women.
- (music) A wolf tone or wolf note.
- The soft violin solo was marred by persistent wolves.
- (figurative) Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation.
- They toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door.
- the bee wolf
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 85:
- “ […] Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing. Oh, dear, there's so much to tell you, so many warnings to give you, but all that must be postponed for the moment.”
- One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths.
- A white worm which infests granaries, the larva of Nemapogon granella, a tineid moth.
- A wolf spider.
- (obsolete) An eating ulcer or sore. See lupus.
- 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC:
- If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side
- A willying machine, to cleanse wool or willow.
- 1872, Johann Rudolph von Wagner, A handbook of Chemical Technology:
- The loosening and purifying of the raw cotton from the various impurities , such as sand, grit, &c., is accomplished by beating with the hand, or by the Wolf machine, by means of a cylinder, the surface of which is covered with sharp iron teeth
Synonyms
Hypernyms
- (large wild canid): Canis lupus, canid
Hyponyms
Coordinate terms
- (large wild canid): dingo, dog (members of Canis lupus not called wolf); coyote, jackal, fox (other canids)
Derived terms
- aard-wolf
- Abyssinian wolf
- Alaskan tundra wolf
- Alexander Archipelago wolf
- Alsatian wolf dog
- Antarctic wolf
- Apennine wolf
- aphid wolf
- Arctic wolf
- arctic wolf
- Arctic wolf spider
- Bernard's wolf
- Big Bad Wolf
- brush wolf
- buy wolf tickets
- cry wolf
- Desertas wolf spider
- dire wolf
- eastern wolf
- Ethiopian wolf
- Ezo wolf
- Falkland Islands wolf
- Falkland Island wolf
- Florida black wolf
- Futsing wolf snake
- Great Plains wolf
- Greenland wolf
- Gregory's wolf
- grey wolf, gray wolf
- have the wolf by the ear
- he-wolf
- Hokkaido wolf
- Honshu wolf
- hungry like the wolf
- Indian wolf
- Interior Alaskan wolf
- Iranian wolf
- Italian wolf
- Japanese wolf
- keep the wolf from the door
- like a wolf on the fold
- lone wolf
- Lone Wolf (town)
- maned wolf
- man is a wolf to man
- Manitoba wolf
- man-wolf
- mer-wolf
- Mexican wolf
- mountain wolf
- painted wolf
- polar wolf
- prairie wolf
- rabid wolf spider
- raised by wolves
- red wolf
- rye wolf
- Sakhalin wolf
- sea wolf
- seawolf (Anarhichas lupus)
- see a wolf
- sell wolf tickets
- she-wolf
- Taimyr wolf
- Tasmanian wolf
- the wolf is at the door
- the wolf may lose his teeth but never his nature
- tiger wolf
- timber wolf
- tundra wolf
- were-wolf
- werewolf
- were wolf
- wher-wolf
- white wolf
- who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl
- wolf at the door
- wolf back
- wolf call
- wolf-cat
- wolf-child
- wolf cub
- wolf cut
- wolf dog
- wolf down
- wolf eel
- wolf eliminator
- wolfess
- wolffish
- wolf-fish
- wolf-grey
- wolf guarding the sheep
- wolf herring
- wolf hook
- wolf-hunter
- wolfie
- wolf in a lamb's skin
- wolf in one's belly
- wolf in one's stomach
- wolf in sheep's clothing
- wolf interval
- wolfish
- wolf jump
- wolf lichen
- wolflike
- wolf moon
- wolf-mother
- wolf net
- wolf of Wall Street
- wolf-pack
- wolf pack
- wolf packing
- Wolf Point
- wolf snake
- wolf ticket
- wolf tone
- wolf tooth
- wolf tree
- wolf up
- wolf warrior
- wolf-whelp
- wolf whelp
- wolf-whistle
- wolf whistle
- wolf worm
- wolfy
- wolven
- zebra wolf
Descendants
- → Ido: volfo (also from German)
Translations
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References
- “wolf”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Verb
wolf (third-person singular simple present wolfs, present participle wolfing, simple past and past participle wolfed)
- (transitive) To devour; to gobble; to eat (something) voraciously.
- 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 150:
- "Here's these legal ferrets has got our Puddin' in their clutches, and here's us, spellbound with anguish, watchin' them wolfin' it."
- 1987, James Ellroy, The Black Dahlia:
- After a wolfed burger dinner, I called the night number at Administrative Vice and inquired about known lesbian gathering places.
- 2013, Neil Martin, Collected Stories of the Sea:
- Vicars seated himself and began wolfing a sandwich.
- (intransitive, slang) To make amorous advances to many women; to hit on women; to cruise for sex.
- 1949, Nelson Algren, The Man with the Golden Arm:
- [1940s Chicago punk:] ‘I’ve seen a thing or two in my time,’ he still liked to boast, ‘that was how I found out the best place for wolfin’ ain’t the taverns. It ain’t in dance halls ’r on North Clark on Saturday night. It’s in the front row in Sunday school on Sunday mornin’. Oh yeh, I know a thing or two, I been around.’
- (intransitive) To hunt for wolves.
Alternative forms
Synonyms
Translations
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “wolf”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ^ Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, in Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction (2009), page 136
Further reading
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch wolf, from Middle Dutch wolf, from Old Dutch *wulf, *wolf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
wolf (plural wolwe)
Alemannic German
Etymology
From Middle High German wolf, from Old High German wolf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz. Cognate with German Wolf, Dutch wolf, English wolf, Icelandic úlfur.
Noun
wolf m
References
- Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
Dutch
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Wolves_in_Kolm%C3%A5rden.jpg/220px-Wolves_in_Kolm%C3%A5rden.jpg)
Etymology
From Middle Dutch wolf, from Old Dutch *wulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.
Pronunciation
Noun
wolf m (plural wolven, diminutive wolfje n, feminine wolvin)
- wolf, undomesticated Canis lupus
- Ze gingen de wolven bekijken in de dierentuin.
- They went to look at the wolves in the zoo.
- one of many other canids of the family Canidae, especially of the genus Canis
- Er bestaan verschillende soorten wolven.
- Various species of wolves exist.
Hypernyms
Hypernyms
Holonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- Afrikaans: wolf
- Jersey Dutch: wâlf
- Negerhollands: wuluwuluk
- → Virgin Islands Creole: wuluwuluk (dated)
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch *wulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.
Noun
wolf m
Inflection
Derived terms
Descendants
Further reading
- “wolf (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “wolf (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old English wulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.
Pronunciation
Noun
wolf (plural wolves, diminutive wolfy, wolfie)
Descendants
Middle High German
Etymology
From Old High German wolf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.
Noun
wolf m
Descendants
- Alemannic German: wolf (Italian Walser)
- Bavarian: Woif, Wolf
- German: Wolf
- Hunsrik: Wollef
- Luxembourgish: Wollef
- Pennsylvania German: Wolf
- Vilamovian: wūf
- Yiddish: וואָלף (volf)
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz.
Pronunciation
Noun
wolf m (plural wolfa)
Declension
case | singular | plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | wolf | wolfa |
accusative | wolf | wolfa |
genitive | wolfes | wolfo |
dative | wolfe | wolfum |
instrumental | wolfu | — |
Derived terms
Descendants
- Middle High German: wolf
West Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian wolf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.
Noun
wolf c (plural wolven, diminutive wolfke)
Further reading
- “wolf”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English doublets
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ʊlf
- Rhymes:English/ʊlf/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English terms with quotations
- en:Music
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English slang
- en:Wolves
- en:Moths
- en:Spiders
- Afrikaans terms inherited from Dutch
- Afrikaans terms derived from Dutch
- Afrikaans terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Afrikaans terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Afrikaans terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Afrikaans terms derived from Old Dutch
- Afrikaans terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Afrikaans terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Afrikaans terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Afrikaans terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Afrikaans terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Afrikaans terms with audio links
- Afrikaans lemmas
- Afrikaans nouns
- af:Wolves
- Alemannic German terms inherited from Middle High German
- Alemannic German terms derived from Middle High German
- Alemannic German terms inherited from Old High German
- Alemannic German terms derived from Old High German
- Alemannic German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Alemannic German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Alemannic German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Alemannic German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Alemannic German lemmas
- Alemannic German nouns
- Alemannic German masculine nouns
- Carcoforo Walser
- Formazza Walser
- Gressoney Walser
- Issime Walser
- Rimella and Campello Monti Walser
- gsw:Wolves
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɔlf
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɔlf/1 syllable
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch terms with usage examples
- nl:Wolves
- Middle Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Middle Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Middle Dutch terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle Dutch terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle Dutch terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle Dutch lemmas
- Middle Dutch nouns
- Middle Dutch masculine nouns
- dum:Canids
- Middle Dutch strong nouns
- dum:Wolves
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- enm:Wolves
- Middle High German terms inherited from Old High German
- Middle High German terms derived from Old High German
- Middle High German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle High German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle High German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle High German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle High German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle High German lemmas
- Middle High German nouns
- Middle High German masculine nouns
- gmh:Wolves
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old High German lemmas
- Old High German nouns
- Old High German masculine nouns
- Old High German a-stem nouns
- goh:Wolves
- West Frisian terms inherited from Old Frisian
- West Frisian terms derived from Old Frisian
- West Frisian terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- West Frisian terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- West Frisian terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- West Frisian terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- West Frisian terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- West Frisian terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- West Frisian lemmas
- West Frisian nouns
- West Frisian common-gender nouns
- fy:Wolves