wolf

English Online Dictionary. What means wolf‎? What does wolf mean?

English

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/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /wʊlf/, [wʊ̠ɫf], [wɫ̩f]
  • (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /wʊlf/, [wʊwf]
  • (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA^(key): /wʉlf/
• enPR: wo͝of, IPA^(key): /wʊf/ (now nonstandard)
• enPR: wŭlf, IPA^(key): /wʌlf/ (obsolete)
• Rhymes: -ʊlf

Noun

wolf (plural wolves)

2. Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily.

   Synonym: grey wolf

   1. Any of several related canines that resemble Canis lupus in appearance, especially those of the genus Canis.
3. A man who makes amorous advances to many women.
4. (music) A wolf tone or wolf note.

5. (figurative) Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation.
6. One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths.
7. A white worm which infests granaries, the larva of Nemapogon granella, a tineid moth.
8. A wolf spider.
9. (obsolete) An eating ulcer or sore. See lupus.
10. A willying machine, to cleanse wool or willow.

Synonyms

• loafer, lobo, lofer, loper, lover (Southwestern US dialects)

Hypernyms

• (large wild canid): Canis lupus, canid

Hyponyms

• (large wild canid): she-wolf, wolfess

Coordinate terms

• (large wild canid): dingo, dog (members of Canis lupus not called wolf); coyote, jackal, fox (other canids)

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Ido: volfo (also from German)

Translations

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)

1. (transitive) To devour; to gobble; to eat (something) voraciously.
2. (intransitive, slang) To make amorous advances to many women; to hit on women; to cruise for sex.
3. (intransitive) To hunt for wolves.

Alternative forms

• wolve (rare)

Synonyms

• (devour, gobble): gulp down, wolf down

Translations

References

Further reading

• wolf on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• flow, fowl

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

Noun

wolf (plural wolwe)

1. wolf

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

1. (Carcoforo, Formazza, Gressoney, Issime, Rimella and Campello Monti) wolf

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

Etymology

From Middle Dutch wolf, from Old Dutch *wulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɔlf/
• Hyphenation: wolf
• Rhymes: -ɔlf

Noun

wolf m (plural wolven, diminutive wolfje n, feminine wolvin)

1. wolf, undomesticated Canis lupus

2. one of many other canids of the family Canidae, especially of the genus Canis

Hypernyms

• hondachtige

Hyponyms

• hond

Holonyms

• roedel

Derived terms

Related terms

• welp

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

1. wolf, grey wolf

Inflection

Derived terms

• wēerwolf

Descendants

• Dutch: wolf
  • Afrikaans: wolf
  • Jersey Dutch: wâlf
  • Negerhollands: wuluwuluk
    • → Virgin Islands Creole: wuluwuluk (dated)
• Limburgish: wólf

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

• wulf, woulf, wolfe

Etymology

From Old English wulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wulf/

Noun

wolf (plural wolves, diminutive wolfy, wolfie)

1. wolf, lupine
2. terrifying person

Descendants

• English: wolf, wolve (rare)
  • → Ido: volfo (also from German)
• Scots: wolf, woulf, wouff

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German wolf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈwolf/

Noun

wolf m

1. wolf

Declension

Descendants

• Alemannic German: wolf (Italian Walser)
• Bavarian: Woif, Wolf

  Cimbrian: bolf

  Mòcheno: bolf

  Udinese: bolf, bölf

• 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

• IPA^(key): /wolf/

Noun

wolf m (plural wolfa)

1. wolf

Declension

Derived terms

• wolfbizzo
• Wolfgang

Descendants

• Middle High German: wolf
  • Alemannic German: wolf (Italian Walser)
  • Bavarian: Woif, Wolf

    Cimbrian: bolf

    Mòcheno: bolf

    Udinese: bolf, bölf

  • German: Wolf
  • Hunsrik: Wollef
  • Luxembourgish: Wollef
  • Pennsylvania German: Wolf
  • Vilamovian: wūf
  • Yiddish: וואָלף (volf)

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)

1. wolf

Further reading

• “wolf”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011