animal

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A living creature that can move and feel, such as a dog, bird, or fish, but not a plant.

   Lions, elephants, and other wild animals live on the plains of Africa.

2. 2
   noun

   A person who behaves in a cruel, violent, or uncontrolled way.

   The way he ate his food made him look like an animal.

3. 3
   adj

   Relating to animals, or to the physical and instinctive side of human nature.

   When danger appears, our animal instincts take over.

Common collocations

• farm animal Adjective + noun
• wild animal Adjective + noun
• feed animals Verb + noun
• domestic animal Adjective + noun
• keep animals Verb + noun
• rescue an animal Verb + noun
• endangered animal Adjective + noun
• protect animals Verb + noun

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos Proto-Italic *anamos Latin animus Latin anima Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin animālis Latin animalder. Old French animalbor. Middle English animal English animal From Middle English animal, from Old French animal, from Latin animal, a nominal use of the adjective form animāle, neuter of animālis, from anima (“breath, spirit”). Displaced native Middle English deor, der (“animal”) (whence modern English deer; from Old English dēor (“animal”)), Middle English…

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