vulpine

Borrowed from Latin vulpīnus (“foxy, fox-like”), from vulpēs, earlier volpēs (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *wl(o)p- (“fox”). Cognate with Welsh llywarn (“fox”), Ancient Greek ἀλώπηξ (alṓpēx), Armenian աղուէս (aġuēs), Albanian dhelpër, Lithuanian vilpišỹs (“wildcat”), Sanskrit लोपाश (lopāśa, “jackal, fox”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈvʌlpaɪn/

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• Rhymes: -ʌlpaɪn

vulpine (comparative more vulpine, superlative most vulpine)

1. Pertaining to a fox.
   • 1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “The Bag”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 80:

     She dared not raise her eyes above the level of the tea-table, and she almost expected to see a spot of accusing vulpine blood drip down and stain the whiteness of the cloth.

2. Having the characteristics of a fox; foxlike; cunning.

vulpine (plural vulpines)

1. Any of certain canids called foxes (including true foxes, arctic foxes and grey foxes), distinguished from canines, which are regarded as similar to dogs and wolves.
   • 1980, Michael Wilson Fox, The Soul of the Wolf, unnumbered page:

     The family Canidae consists of two main subgroups, the vulpines (foxes) and the canines (wolves, coyotes, jackals, and dogs), and some intermediate “fox-dog” forms from South America.

2. A person considered cunning.

• canine
• lupine
• Vulpini (tribe within subfamily Caninae)

• liven up

vulpine

1. feminine singular of vulpin

vulpīne

1. vocative masculine singular of vulpīnus