hyena

See also: hýena

English

a spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

Alternative forms

• hyaena, hyæna (dated)
• hyen (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English hiena, variant of hyene, from Old French hiene, from Medieval Latin hyēna, from Latin hyaena, from Ancient Greek ὕαινα (húaina). Displaced native Old English nihtgenġe (literally “night walker”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: hī-ēʹnə, IPA^(key): /haɪˈiːnə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

hyena (plural hyenas or hyena or hyenae)

1. Any of the medium-sized to large feliform carnivores of the subfamily Hyaenidae, native to Africa and Asia and noted for the sound similar to laughter which they can make if excited.
   • 1994, T. M. Caro, Cheetahs of the Serengeti Plains: Group Living in an Asocial Species‎^[1], page 283:

     I took no systematic data on the costs to cheetahs and hyenas, but some anecdotes suggest that both parties took numerical advantage and hunger into account.

   • 2002, Maskew Miller Longman, Find Out about African Animals‎^[2], page 28:

     Hyenas are scavengers, which means they eat food left behind by other animals and people.

   • 2003, Anne Engh, Kay E. Holekamp, “Case Study 5A: Maternal Rank "Inheritance" in the Spotted Hyena”, in Frans B. M. De Waal, Peter L Tyack, editors, Animal Social Complexity: Intelligence, Culture, and Individualized Societies, page 149:

     Hyena biologists often think of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) as baboons with big teeth and relatively small brains.

2. (Sub-Saharan Africa) A man that performs ritualized sex acts with recently widowed women and menarchal girls.
   • see Citations:hyena

Usage notes

The hyena family, Hyaenidae, also includes the smaller insectivorous aardwolf, the sole survivor of a lineage regarded as more dog-like.

Derived terms

• brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea)
• cave hyena (†Crocuta crocuta spelaea)
• giant hyena (†Pachycrocuta spp.)
• hyena dog (Lycaon pictus)
• hyenalike
• laughing hyena (= spotted hyena)
• laugh like a hyena
• running hyena (†Chasmaporthetes spp.)
• spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
• striped hyena Hyaena hyaena

 

Translations

mammal

• Afrikaans: hiëna (af)
• Albanian: hienë (sq) f
• Amharic: ዥብ (žəb)
• Arabic: ضَبُع m (ḍabuʕ)

  Egyptian Arabic: ضَبْع m (ḍabʕ)

  Hijazi Arabic: ضَبْع m (ḍabʕ)

  Moroccan Arabic: ضبع m (ḍbaʕ)

• Armenian: բորենի (hy) (boreni)
• Asturian: hiena (ast) f
• Azerbaijani: kaftar (az)
• Barein: búlmí
• Bari: gworong
• Bashkir: һыртлан (hırtlan)
• Basque: hiena (eu)
• Belarusian: гіе́на f (hijéna)
• Bengali: হায়েনা (bn) (haẏena)
• Bulgarian: хие́на (bg) f (hiéna)
• Burmese: ဟိုင်းအီနာ (huing:ina)
• Catalan: hiena (ca) f
• Cerma: maamuŋo
• Chichewa: fisi
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鬣狗 (zh) (liègǒu); (dated) 海乙那 (hǎiyǐnà)

• Czech: hyena (cs) f
• Dagbani: kunduŋ
• Danish: hyæne (da) c
• Dime: nayi
• Dutch: hyena (nl) f
• Esperanto: hieno
• Estonian: hüään (et)
• Finnish: hyeena (fi)
• French: hyène (fr) f
• Friulian: jene f
• Galician: hiena (gl) f
• Ge'ez: ዝእብ (zəʾb)
• Georgian: აფთარი (ka) (aptari)
• German: Hyäne (de) f
• Greek: ύαινα (el) f (ýaina)

  Ancient: γλάνος m (glános), ὕαινα f (húaina)

• Gwere: mpiti
• Hausa: kūrā (ha)
• Hebrew: צָבוֹעַ (he) m (tsavóa)
• Hindi: लकड़बग्घा (hi) m (lakaṛbagghā), तरच्छ (taracch)
• Hungarian: hiéna (hu)
• Icelandic: híena f, hýena f
• Igbo: nkịta ọhịa
• Indonesian: dubuk (id)
• Irish: hiéana m
• Italian: iena (it) f
• Japanese: ハイエナ (ja) (haiena), 鬣犬 (ja) (たてがみいぬ, tategamiinu)
• Kannada: ಕತ್ತೆಕಿರುಬ (kn) (kattekiruba)
• Karang: mgburum
• Kazakh: қорқау (qorqau)
• Khmer: ^{(please verify)} សត្វស្វាន (sat svaan)
• Kikuyu: hiti class 9/10
• Korean: 하이에나 (ko) (haiena)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: کەمتیار (kemtyar)

  Northern Kurdish: keftar (ku) f

• Kyrgyz: гиена (giyena), көкжал (kökjal)
• Lao: ຫມາໃນ (mā nai), ໝາໄນ (lo) (mā nai), ສຸນັກໄນ (su nak nai)
• Latin: hyaena (la) f
• Latvian: hiēna f
• Lithuanian: hiena f
• Maasai: olng'ojine m
• Macedonian: хие́на f (hiéna)
• Magahi: 𑂍𑂳𑂞𑂪𑂰𑂍𑂰𑂚 (kutlākāṛ)
• Malay: dubuk, hiena
• Malayalam: കഴുതപ്പുലി (ml) (kaḻutappuli)
• Maltese: jena f
• Mandinka: suluwo
• Marathi: तरस (taras)
• Middle English: hiene
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: цөөвөр чоно (cöövör čono)

• Moroccan Amazigh: ⵉⴼⵉⵙ m (ifis)
• Nandi: kimaket
• Njyem: bʉʉ
• Nkonya: ɔkpataku
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hyene m

• Nuer: yak
• Nupe: màkundunnu
• Old English: nihtgenġe f
• Oromo: waraabessa
• Ottoman Turkish: صرتلان (sırtlan)
• Pashto: اښوپړانګ m (ax̌opṛãng), کوږ m (koẓ), کوږبل m (koẓbǝ́l)
• Persian: کفتار (fa) (kaftâr)
• Piedmontese: jen-a f
• Polish: hiena (pl) f
• Portuguese: hiena (pt) f
• Rendille: waraba
• Romanian: hienă (ro) f, hiene pl
• Russian: гие́на (ru) f (gijéna)
• Sanskrit: तरक्षु (sa) (tarakṣu)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: хије́на f

  Roman: hijéna (sh) f

• Sidamo: goto
• Slovak: hyena (sk) f
• Slovene: hijena (sl) f
• Somali: waraabe
• Spanish: hiena (es) f
• Swahili: fisi (sw) class 9/10
• Swedish: hyena (sv) c
• Tagalog: yena
• Tajik: кафтор (kaftor)
• Tamil: கழுதைப்புலி (ta) (kaḻutaippuli)
• Tashelhit: ⵉⴼⵉⵙ m (ifis)
• Tatar: сыртлан (tt) (sırtlan)
• Tedaga: zoor
• Telugu: దుమ్ములగొండి (te) (dummulagoṇḍi)
• Thai: หมาใน (th) (mǎa-nai), ไฮยีน่า (hai-yii-nâa)
• Tooro: empisi class 9
• Tswana: phiri class 9/10
• Turkish: sırtlan (tr)
• Turkmen: syrtlan
• Uduk: nyùrúny
• Ukrainian: гіє́на f (hijéna)
• Urdu: لکر بگھا m (lakaṛ bagghā)
• Uyghur: سىرتلان (sirtlan), سرتلان (srtlan)
• Uzbek: sirtlon (uz)
• Vietnamese: linh cẩu
• Volapük: hüen (vo)
• Walloon: iyinne (wa) f
• Welsh: udfil m, hiena f
• Wolof: bukki bi (wo)
• Yiddish: היענע f (hyene)
• Yoruba: ìkòrikò, ìkookò, kòrikò
• Zazaki: keftal
• Zulu: impisi (zu) class 9/10

See also

• aardwolf (Proteles cristatus)

Anagrams

• Haney, Hayne

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɦɪjɛna]

Noun

hyena f

1. hyena (large carnivore)

Declension

Declension of hyena (hard feminine)

	singular	plural
nominative	hyena	hyeny
genitive	hyeny	hyen
dative	hyeně	hyenám
accusative	hyenu	hyeny
vocative	hyeno	hyeny
locative	hyeně	hyenách
instrumental	hyenou	hyenami

Related terms

• hyenismus
• hyení

 

Further reading

• hyena in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• hyena in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin hyaena, from Ancient Greek ὕαινα (húaina).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɦiˈjeːnaː/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: hy‧e‧na

Noun

hyena f (plural hyena's, diminutive hyenaatje n)

1. hyena, any member of the family Hyaenidae

Derived terms

• bruine hyena
• gestreepte hyena
• gevlekte hyena
• hyenahond

Italian

Noun

hyena f (plural hyene)

1. (obsolete) Alternative spelling of iena

Swedish

Noun

hyena c

1. a hyena

Declension

Declension of hyena
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	hyena	hyenan	hyenor	hyenorna
Genitive	hyenas	hyenans	hyenors	hyenornas

See also

• hund
• hynda