animal

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See also: Animal and animâl

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK, US) enPR: ăn'ĭməl, IPA(key): /ˈænɪməl/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English animal, from Old French animal, from Latin animal, a nominal use of an adjective from animale, neuter of animālis, from anima (“breath, spirit”). Displaced native Middle English deor, der (“animal”) (from Old English dēor (“animal”)), Middle English reother (“animal, neat”) (from Old English hrīþer, hrȳþer (“neat, ox”)).

Noun[edit]

animal (plural animals)

  1. (sciences) A eukaryote of the clade Animalia; a multicellular organism that is usually mobile, whose cells are not encased in a rigid cell wall (distinguishing it from plants and fungi) and which derives energy solely from the consumption of other organisms (distinguishing it from plants).
    A cat is an animal, not a plant. Humans are also animals, under the scientific definition, as we are not plants.
    Synonyms: beast, creature
    • 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Cameleon”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 133:
      It cannot be denied it [the chameleon] is (if not the moſt of any) a very abſtemious animall, and ſuch as by reaſon of its frigidity, paucity of bloud, and latitancy in the winter (about which time the obſervations are often made) will long ſubſist without a viſible ſuſtentation.
  2. (loosely) Any member of the kingdom Animalia other than a human.
    Synonym: beast
  3. (loosely, colloquial) Any land-living vertebrate (i.e. not fishes, insects, etc.).
    • 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
      Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
  4. (figuratively) A person who behaves wildly; a bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, or inhuman person.
    My students are animals.
    Synonyms: brute, monster, savage
  5. (informal) A person of a particular type.
    He's a political animal.
  6. Matter, thing.
    a whole different animal
Hyponyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
See animal/translations § Noun.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin animālis, from either anima (“breath, spirit”) or animus. Originally distinct from the noun, it became associated with attributive use of the noun and is now indistinguishable from it.

Adjective[edit]

animal (not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to animals.
    animal instincts
    Synonyms: beastly, bestial
  2. Raw, base, unhindered by social codes.
    animal passions
    Synonyms: animalistic, beastly, bestial, untamed, wild
  3. Pertaining to the spirit or soul; relating to sensation or innervation.
    • 2003, Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason, Penguin, published 2004, page 47:
      To explain what activated the flesh, ‘animal spirits’ were posited, superfine fluids which shuttled between the mind and the vitals, conveying messages and motion.
  4. (slang, Ireland) Excellent
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Asturian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin animal.

Adjective[edit]

animal (epicene, plural animales)

  1. animal

Noun[edit]

animal m (plural animales)

  1. animal

Catalan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin animal.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

animal (masculine and feminine plural animals)

  1. animal

Noun[edit]

animal m (plural animals)

  1. animal

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Cebuano[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Spanish animal, from Latin animal, a nominal use of an adjective from animale, neuter of animālis, from anima (“breath, spirit”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Hyphenation: a‧ni‧mal
  • IPA(key): /ʔaniˈmal/, [ʔʌ.n̪ɪˈmal̪]

Noun[edit]

animál

  1. animal
  2. (derogatory) a contemptible person
  3. (sometimes humurous) a crazy person

Adjective[edit]

animál

  1. (sometimes humorous) crazy
  2. contemptible, deserving contempt
  3. ruthless; without pity or compassion; cruel, pitiless

Interjection[edit]

animál

  1. (vulgar) used as an expression of disgust, anger, etc.

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin animal. Compare the archaic inherited doublet aumaille and its variant armaille, both from the Latin neuter plural animālia.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

animal m (plural animaux)

  1. animal
    Synonyms: bête, bestiole

Derived terms[edit]

Adjective[edit]

animal (feminine animale, masculine plural animaux, feminine plural animales)

  1. animal
    Synonym: bestial
    Antonym: végétal

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Galician[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin animal.

Adjective[edit]

animal m or f (plural animais)

  1. animal

Noun[edit]

animal m (plural animais)

  1. animal

Haitian Creole[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French animal, from Latin animal.

Noun[edit]

animal

  1. animal
    Synonym: zannimo

Ilocano[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Spanish animal.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Hyphenation: a‧ni‧mal
  • IPA(key): /ʔaniˈmal/, [ʔɐ.niˈmal]

Noun[edit]

animál

  1. animal
    Synonym: ayup

Interlingua[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

animal (plural animales)

  1. animal

Kabuverdianu[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Portuguese animal.

Noun[edit]

animal

  1. beast
  2. animal

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From animāle, nominative neuter singular of animālis.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

animal n (genitive animālis); third declension

  1. animal
  2. living creature

Declension[edit]

Third-declension noun (neuter, “pure” i-stem).

Case Singular Plural
Nominative animal animālia
Genitive animālis animālium
Dative animālī animālibus
Accusative animal animālia
Ablative animālī animālibus
Vocative animal animālia

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Borrowings:

References[edit]

  • “animal”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “animal”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • animal in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • animal in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
  • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • animate and inanimate nature: animata (animalia) inanimaque (not inanimata)
    • domestic animals: animalia quae nobiscum degunt (Plin. 8. 40)

Middle English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /aniˈmaːl/, /aˈnimal/

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from Old French animal, from Latin animal.

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

animal (plural animales)

  1. An animal (considered to include humans)
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from Latin animālis.

Alternative forms[edit]

Adjective[edit]

animal

  1. Related to the soul or spirit of a living being (i.e. sentience or sapience)
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]

Middle French[edit]

Noun[edit]

animal m (plural animaux or animaulx)

  1. animal
    Synonym: beste

Papiamentu[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Portuguese animal and Spanish animal.

Noun[edit]

animal

  1. beast
  2. animal

Portuguese[edit]

FWOTD – 4 October 2020

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin animal. Doublet of alimária.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: a‧ni‧mal

Adjective[edit]

animal m or f (plural animais, comparable, comparative mais animal, superlative o mais animal or animalíssimo)

  1. (biology) animal (relating to animals)
    • 2000, Julio S. Inglez de Sousa et al., Enciclopédia agrícola brasileira: E-H, Editora da Universidade de São Paulo, page 225:
      Em anatomia animal o termo é de uso muito comum, […]
      The term is very commonly used in animal anatomy, […]
  2. (derogatory, of a person) brute (senseless, unreasoning)
  3. (Brazil, colloquial) cool; awesome
    • 2015, Juliana Rosenthal K., Save the Day, Buqui, page 52:
      É, tava animal mesmo — Bia mal consegue falar.
      Yeah, it really was wild — Bia can barely speak.

Quotations[edit]

For quotations using this term, see Citations:animal.

Noun[edit]

animal m (plural animais)

  1. (biology) animal (any member of the kingdom Animalia)
    • 2020, Petrônio Braz, Léxico dos Gerais, Chiado Books, page 481:
      Primatas — Animais mamíferos, da ordem Primata, que compreende os macacos, antropóides e o homem.
      Primates — Mammalian animals, of the order Primata, which comprises monkeys/apes, anthropoids and man.
  2. (non-scientific usage) animal (an animal other than a human, especially a vertebrate)
    • Daniela Ikawa, Valor humano intrínseco e redistribuição social in 2007, Flávia Piovesan, Daniela Ikawa, Direitos Humanos: Fundamento, Proteção e Implementação, volume 2, Juruá Editora, page 44:
      Separar os dois grupos — humanos e animais requereria, dentro dos limites da teoria relativa à dor e ao sofrimento, […]
      Separating the twe groups — humans and animals would require, within the limits of the theory relating to pain and suffering, […]
    Synonyms: besta, bicho
  3. (colloquial) twat; idiot; moron
    • 1979, Wilson Bacelar de Oliveira, Os meus fantasmas, Editora Comunicação, page 490:
      Escute aqui, seu animal, então você brigou com o companheiro?
      Listen up, you dumbass, so you fought with [your] mate?
    Synonyms: idiota, retardado, burro, imbecil, débil mental, besta
  4. (colloquial) beast (a cruel person)
    • 2007, Creso Balduíno, O verso do ser, Editora Revan, page 170:
      Josuel é um animal repulsivo, uma besta humana.
      Josuel is a repulsive beast, a human beast.
    Synonym: monstro

Quotations[edit]

For quotations using this term, see Citations:animal.

Derived terms[edit]

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French animal, from Latin animal. Doublet of nămaie.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

animal m or n (feminine singular animală, masculine plural animali, feminine and neuter plural animale)

  1. animal, animalistic
  2. brutal

Declension[edit]

Declension of animal
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite animal animală animali animali
definite animalul animala animalii animalile
genitive/
dative 		indefinite animal animali animali animali
definite animalului animalii animalilor animalilor

Adverb[edit]

animal

  1. brutally

Noun[edit]

animal n (plural animale)

  1. animal

Declension[edit]

Declension of animal
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) animal animalul (niște) animale animalele
genitive/dative (unui) animal animalului (unor) animale animalelor
vocative animalule animalelor

Romansch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin animal.

Noun[edit]

animal m (plural animals)

  1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Vallader) animal

Synonyms[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin animal. See also alimaña, an inherited doublet.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /aniˈmal/ [a.niˈmal]
  • Audio (Spain)(file)
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: a‧ni‧mal

Adjective[edit]

animal (plural animales)

  1. animal

Noun[edit]

animal m (plural animales)

  1. animal

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Tagalog[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Spanish animal.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Hyphenation: a‧ni‧mal
  • IPA(key): /ʔaniˈmal/, [ʔɐ.nɪˈmal]

Noun[edit]

animál

  1. beast; brute; creature
    Synonyms: halimaw, hayop
  2. (derogatory) brutish person; inhuman person
    Synonyms: hayop, bruto, bestiya

Derived terms[edit]

Tok Pisin[edit]

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Etymology[edit]

From English animal.

Noun[edit]

animal

  1. animal (members of Kingdom Animalia that are not humans)
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:25:
      God i kamapim ol kain kain animal bilong ples na ol bikpela na liklik animal bilong bus. God i lukim olgeta dispela samting i gutpela, na em i amamas.
      →New International Version translation
    Synonym: abus
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