fauna

C2+ Topic:Time
US /ˈfɔnə/ UK /ˈfɔːnə/
noun

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    the animals of a particular region, period, or habitat

    The island's fauna includes several rare bird species.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · the animals of a particular... wildlifeanimalsanimal life
Opposites
Word family
Derived forms faunalfaunistfaunistic
Related forms faun

Etymology

A modern Latin coinage by Linnaeus (1746), from Latin 'Fauna', a rural goddess of fertility (counterpart of 'Faunus', a woodland deity), used as a collective term for the animals of a region paralleling 'flora'.

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