צבוע

Hebrew

Root
צ־ב־ע (ts-b-ʿ)

Etymology 1

Adjective

צָבוּעַ • (tsavúa)

1. painted, colored
2. hypocritical

Noun

צָבוּעַ • (tsavúa) m (plural indefinite צְבוּעִים, feminine counterpart צְבוּעָה)

1. (male) hypocrite

Etymology 2

From Proto-Semitic *ṣ́abuʕ- (“hyena”). Cognate with Arabic ضَبُع (ḍabuʕ).

Noun

צָבוֹעַ • (tsavóa, ṣāḇốaʿ) m (plural indefinite צְבוֹעִים)

1. hyena
2. (Talmud) a male hyena, which begins to shapeshift into other creatures after 7 years of its life

References

• Kogan, Leonid (2011) “Proto-Semitic Lexicon”, in Weninger, Stefan, editor, The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft – Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science; 36), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 208