hircine
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
First attested in its present form in 1650–1660:[1] From Middle English hircyne[2], from Latin hircīnus (“of a goat”, “goat-scented”);[1][2][3][4] equivalent to hircus (“a male goat”)[2][4] + -īnus (“-ine”).[1] Cognate with French hircin.[4] Compare caprine, haedine.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɜːsaɪn/[3]
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈhɝsaɪn/,[1][2] IPA(key): /ˈhɝsɪn/[1][2]
Adjective edit
hircine (comparative more hircine, superlative most hircine)
- (book word, not comparable) Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of goats.[1][2][3][4][5]
- 1781, Thomas Pennant, History of Quadrupeds[1], volume 2, page 528:
- They are monſtrouſly fat, and have a moſt hircine ſmell.
- 1838, Hypericaceæ, entry in The Penny Cyclopaedia, Volume 12, page 411,
- Many[plants of family Hypericaceae] are objects of ornament, but they are little cultivated because they have frequently a disagreeable hircine odour.
- 1992, Helge Ingstad, Land of Feast and Famine[2], page 291:
- People always smiled a little when they looked at Skøieren, and it was surely true that this dog had a most whimsical appearance, practically lost as he was in the depths of his hircine coat of fur.
- 1820, J. J. Virsey, The Natural History of Medicines, Aliments and Poisons, taken from the Kingdoms of Nature: The London Medical and Physical Journal, volume 44, page 247:
- Linnæus formed seven classes of odours of medicines; namely, the aromatic, fragrant, ambrosiac, alliaceous, hircine, fetid, and nauseous.
- Possessed of an odour reminiscent of goats.[1][2][3][4][5]
- Libidinous; lustful.[1][3]
Synonyms edit
- (pertaining to goats): hircic, (archaic, rare) hircose, caprine, (poetic, rare) goaten, goatish, goaty
- (goat-scented): goaty, (botany and zoölogy) hircinous, (archaic, rare) hircose
- (excessively desirous): lascivious, libidinous, lustful, lusty
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of goats
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Noun edit
hircine (uncountable)
- (mineralogy)[3] A fossil amorphous resin which, when burnt, gives off a pungent, hircinous aroma.[3]
Synonyms edit
- (hircinous resin): hircite
References edit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 “hircine” defined by Dictionary.com Unabridged, © Random House, Inc. 2009
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 “hircine” listed in The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 “hircine, a. and n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 “hircine” listed in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 “hircine” defined by WordNet® 3·0, © 2006 by Princeton University