hyena

Meaning

Noun

• 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.
• A man that performs ritualized sex acts with recently widowed women and menarchal girls.

Origin

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