vulpine

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   of, relating to, or resembling a fox

   The animal's narrow muzzle gave it a distinctly vulpine appearance.

2. 2
   adj

   cunning, sly, or crafty in a way traditionally associated with foxes

   A vulpine smile crossed the negotiator's face as he revealed the hidden clause.

3. 3
   noun

   a fox or a member of the foxlike group of canids

   The biologist compared the skull of the vulpine with that of a canine.

Borrowed from Latin vulpinus, "foxy or foxlike," from vulpes, earlier volpes, "fox." The figurative sense draws on the long-standing cultural association of foxes with cunning and sly behavior.

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