vixen English · revision 1239

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈvɪk.sən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English, a southern dialect form of ''fixen'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Old English ''*fyxen'', the feminine of [[fox]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It is related to German ''Füchsin''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Etymonline calls it the only surviving English example of the Germanic feminine suffix ''-en''.^(Etymonline) The spelling with ''v-'' is found from the late 1500s.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A female fox (about 1150 as ''fixen'';^(Barnhart 1995) about 1410 in the OED).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense of an ill-tempered, quarrelsome woman appeared in the 1570s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Wiktionary also records a later sense, a sexually attractive woman.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1150 – ''fixen'', a she-fox.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1410 – a female fox.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1575 – a quarrelsome woman.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * late 1500s – the spelling ''vixen''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A female [[fox]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A woman regarded as quarrelsome, ill-tempered or malicious; a [[shrew]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An attractive, alluring woman.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vixenish]]

+ * [[vixenishly]]

+ * [[vixenishness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fox]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House gives ''shrew'', ''scold'', ''virago'', ''harpy'' and ''termagant'' as synonyms.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}