hyène

Forms

hyène f (plural hyènes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin hyaena (“hyena”),^[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ὕαινα (húaina),^[2][1] which is formed from ὗς (hûs, “pig, sow”) with a feminine suffix of disparaging value, the hyena being likened to the pig in its gait.^[2][3] The Greek word for the pig is related to Latin sūs and Old High German sū.^[3]

Cognate with Italian iena, Spanish hiena and Old Occitan hiena.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the first half of the 12th century, in the Anglo-Norman lapidaries, as the name of the hyena (and of a stone named after it).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word names the carnivorous mammal of Africa and Asia that feeds largely on carrion.^[3][7] Since Balzac (1835) it has also been used figuratively of a ferocious and base person, the animal being reputed both fierce and cowardly, attacking only wounded or sick prey.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1100–1150 – Hyene appears in the Anglo-Norman lapidaries.^[2]
• 13th century – Brunetto Latini's Trésor describes the hiene as a beast living in graveyards and eating the bodies of the dead.^[6]
• 1835 – Balzac uses it figuratively of a vile, ferocious person.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hyena, a carnivorous mammal of Africa and Asia that feeds mostly on carrion: hyène rayée, hyène tachetée.^[7][2]
2. (figurative) A base and ferocious person.^[2][3]

Related words

• Latin hyaena
• Ancient Greek ὕαινα (húaina)
• English hyena

Usage notes

The h is usually not aspirated (l'hyène), though some speakers treat it as aspirate (la hyène); Littré thought the aspirate pronunciation wrong.^[6][7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 521b
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert