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Webster 1913 Edition

Wolf

Wolf

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Wolves
(#)
.
[OE.
wolf
,
wulf
, AS.
wulf
; akin to OS.
wulf
, D. & G.
wolf
, Icel.
ūlfr
, Sw.
ulf
, Dan.
ulv
, Goth.
wulfs
, Lith.
vilkas
, Russ.
volk’
, L.
lupus
, Gr.
λύκος
, Skr.
vṛka
; also to Gr.
ἕλκειν
to draw, drag, tear in pieces. √286. Cf.
Lupine
,
Adj.
,
Lyceum
.]
2.
(Zool.)
One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths;
as, the bee
wolf
.
3.
Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation;
as, they toiled hard to keep the
wolf
from the door
.
4.
A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries.
5.
An eating ulcer or sore. Cf.
Lupus
.
[Obs.]
If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a
wolf
into thy side.
Jer. Taylor.
6.
(Mus.)
(a)
The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament.
(b)
In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale.
7.
(Textile Manuf.)
A willying machine.
Knight.
Black wolf
.
(Zool.)
(a)
A black variety of the European wolf which is common in the Pyrenees.
(b)
A black variety of the American gray wolf.
–
Golden wolf
(Zool.)
,
the Thibetan wolf (
Canis laniger
); – called also
chanco
.
–
Indian wolf
(Zool.)
,
an Asiatic wolf (
Canis pallipes
) which somewhat resembles a jackal. Called also
landgak
.
–
Prairie wolf
(Zool.)
,
the coyote.
–
Sea wolf
.
(Zool.)
See in the Vocabulary.
–
Strand wolf
(Zool.)
the striped hyena.
–
Tasmanian wolf
(Zool.)
,
the zebra wolf.
–
Tiger wolf
(Zool.)
,
the spotted hyena.
–
To keep the wolf from the door
,
to keep away poverty; to prevent starvation. See
Wolf
, 3, above.
Tennyson.
–
Wolf dog
.
(Zool.)
(a)
The mastiff, or shepherd dog, of the Pyrenees, supposed by some authors to be one of the ancestors of the St. Bernard dog.
(b)
The Irish greyhound, supposed to have been used formerly by the Danes for chasing wolves.
(c)
A dog bred between a dog and a wolf, as the Eskimo dog.
–
Wolf eel
(Zool.)
,
a wolf fish.
–
Wolf fish
(Zool.)
,
any one of several species of large, voracious marine fishes of the genus
Anarrhichas
, especially the common species (
Anarrhichas lupus
) of Europe and North America. These fishes have large teeth and powerful jaws. Called also
catfish
,
sea cat
,
sea wolf
,
stone biter
, and
swinefish
.
–
Wolf net
,
a kind of net used in fishing, which takes great numbers of fish.
–
Wolf's peach
(Bot.)
,
the tomato, or love apple (
Lycopersicum esculentum
).
–
Wolf spider
(Zool.)
,
any one of numerous species of running ground spiders belonging to the genus
Lycosa
, or family
Lycosidae
. These spiders run about rapidly in search of their prey. Most of them are plain brown or blackish in color. See Illust. in App.
–
Zebra wolf
(Zool.)
,
a savage carnivorous marsupial (
Thylacinus cynocephalus
) native of Tasmania; – called also
Tasmanian wolf
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Wolf

WOLF

,
Noun.
WULF. [G., Gr.]
1.
An animal of the genus Canis, a beast of prey that kills sheep and other small domestic animals; called sometimes the wild dog. The wolf is crafty, greedy and ravenous.
2.
A small white worm or maggot, which infests granaries.
3.
An eating ulcer.

Definition 2024

Wolf

Wolf

See also: wolf

English

Proper noun

Wolf

  1. The constellation Lupus.

See also

Etymology 2

From Middle English and German short forms of given names containing the Germanic element "wolf".

Proper noun

Wolf

  1. A surname​.

Dutch

Etymology

From wolf.

Proper noun

Wolf m

  1. (astronomy) Lupus

German

Etymology

From Middle High German wolf, from Old High German wolf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos. Compare Dutch and English wolf, Danish ulv, Gothic 𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐍃 ‎(wulfs).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vɔlf/

Noun

Wolf m ‎(genitive Wolfs or Wolfes, plural Wölfe, feminine Wölfin)

  1. wolf
  2. (astronomy) the constellation Lupus
  3. shredder, mincer
  4. skin abrasion (acquired on long hikes or marches, through the friction of one's clothes)
Declension
Derived terms

Proper noun

Wolf

  1. A male given name, short form of Germanic compound names beginning with the element Wolf-, particularly Wolfgang.
  2. A surname​ derived from the given name, or as a nickname from the animal. Variant: Wolff.

wolf

wolf

See also: Wolf

English

Gray wolf.

Noun

wolf ‎(plural wolves)

  1. A large wild canid of certain subspecies of Canis lupus.
  2. A man who makes amorous advances on many women.
  3. (music) A wolf tone or wolf note; an unpleasant tone produced when a note matches the natural resonating frequency of the body of a musical instrument, the quality of which may be likened to the howl of a wolf.
    This cello has a terrible wolf on the D string around 'F'.‎
  4. One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths.
    the bee wolf‎
  5. (figuratively) Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 7, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      “ […] 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.”
    They toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door.‎
  6. A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries.
  7. (obsolete) An eating ulcer or sore. See lupus.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Jeremy Taylor, (Please provide the title of the work):
      If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side.
  8. A willying machine.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Translations

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.
    • 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.

Synonyms

Translations

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

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

Noun

wolf ‎(plural wolwe, diminutive wolfie)

  1. wolf

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʋɔlf/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch wolf, from Old Dutch *wulf, *wolf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos. Cognate to English wolf and German Wolf.

Noun

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

  1. wolf

Related terms

Middle English

Etymology

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

Noun

wolf (plural wolves)

  1. wolf

Descendants

Middle High German

Etymology

From Old High German wolf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos.

Noun

wolf m

  1. wolf

Descendants

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian wolf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos. Compare Dutch and English wolf, German Wolf, Danish ulv.

Noun

wolf c ‎(plural wolven)

  1. wolf

Etymology

From wolf.

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