Any of numerous species of small wildcanids resembling the red fox. In the taxonomy they form the tribe Vulpini within the family Canidae, consisting of nine genera (see the Wikipedia article on the fox).
From Middle English fox, from Old English fox ("fox"), from Proto-West Germanic *fuhs, from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz ("fox"), from Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos ("the tailed one"), possibly from *puḱ-.
Cognate with Scots fox ("fox"), West Frisian foks ("fox"), Fering-Öömrang North Frisian foos and Sölring and Heligoland fos, Dutch vos ("fox"), Low German vos ("fox"), German Fuchs ("fox"), Icelandic fóa ("fox"), Tocharian B päkā ("tail, chowrie"), Russian пух ("down, fluff"), Sanskrit पुच्छ (whence Torwali پوش ("fox"), Hindi पूंछ).
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