hyena

Alternative forms

• hyaena; hyæna (dated)

Etymology

From Middle English hiena, from Medieval Latin hyēna, from Latin hyaena, from Ancient Greek ὕαινα (húaina).

Pronunciation

• enPR: hī-ēʹnə, IPA^(key): /haɪˈiːnə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

hyena (plural hyenas or hyena or hyenae)

1. Any of the medium-sized to large feliform carnivores of the subfamily Hyaeninae (genera Hyaena and Crocuta), native to Africa and Asia and noted for the sound similar to laughter which they can make if excited.
   • 1994, T. M. Caro, Cheetahs of the Serengeti Plains: Group Living in an Asocial Species, page 283,

     I took no systematic data on the costs to cheetahs and hyenas, but some anecdotes suggest that both parties took numerical advantage and hunger into account.

   • 2002, Maskew Miller Longman, Find Out about African Animals, page 28,

     Hyenas are scavengers, which means they eat food left behind by other animals and people.

   • 2003, Anne Engh, Kay E. Holekamp, Case Study 5A: Maternal Rank "Inheritance" in the Spotted Hyena, Frans B. M. De Waal, Peter L Tyack (editors), Animal Social Complexity: Intelligence, Culture, and Individualized Societies, page 149,

     Hyena biologists often think of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) as baboons with big teeth and relatively small brains.

2. (Sub-saharan Africa) A man that performs ritualized sex acts with recently widowed women and menarchal girls.
   • see Citations:hyena

See also

• aardwolf

Anagrams

• Haney, Hayne

Noun

hyena f

1. hyena (large carnivore)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦiˈjeːnaː/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

hyena m (plural hyena's, diminutive hyenaatje n)

1. hyena

Noun

hyena f (plural hyene)

1. Obsolete spelling of iena

Noun

hyena c

1. a hyena