Found 1 items, similar to Cave hyena.
English → English (gcide)
Definition: Cave hyena
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.] (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.
[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 (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.
[1913 Webster]
Cave
\Cave\ (k[=a]v), n. [F. cave, L. cavus hollow, whence cavea
cavity. Cf.
Cage.]
1. A hollow place in the earth, either natural or artificial;
a subterraneous cavity; a cavern; a den.
[1913 Webster]
2. Any hollow place, or part; a cavity. [Obs.]
“The cave of
the ear.” --Bacon.
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3. (Eng. Politics) A coalition or group of seceders from a
political party, as from the Liberal party in England in
1866. See
Adullam,
Cave of, in the Dictionary of Noted
Names in Fiction.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Cave bear (Zo["o]l.), a very large fossil bear (
Ursus spel[ae]us
) similar to the grizzly bear, but large;
common in European caves.
Cave dweller, a savage of prehistoric times whose dwelling
place was a cave. --Tylor.
Cave hyena (Zo["o]l.), a fossil hyena found abundanty in
British caves, now usually regarded as a large variety of
the living African spotted hyena.
Cave lion (Zo["o]l.), a fossil lion found in the caves of
Europe, believed to be a large variety of the African
lion.
Bone cave. See under
Bone.
[1913 Webster]