vixen
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vix·en
(vĭk′sən)n.
1. A female fox.
2.
a. A woman regarded as sexually alluring.
b. A woman regarded as quarrelsome or ill-tempered.
[From dialectal alteration of Middle English fixen, from Old English fyxe.]
vix′en·ish adj.
vix′en·ish·ly adv.
vix′en·ish·ness n.
Word History: In the traditional dialects of Devon, Somerset, and Cornwall, counties of southern England, words that begin with the voiceless fricative sounds (f) and (s) are pronounced instead with voicing, as (v) and (z). (The local rendering of the county name Somerset, in fact, is "Zomerzet.") The voicing is due to a Middle English sound change and may have roots even earlier. At least three examples of this dialectal pronunciation have entered standard English: vat, vane, and vixen. The first of these is a variant of an earlier word fat; the pronunciation with (f) was still used in the 1800s before being displaced by the southern pronunciation (văt). Vane, which used to mean "flag," has a cognate in the German word for "flag," Fahne, showing the original f. Vixen, finally, represents the southern pronunciation of a word that goes back to Old English fyxe, the feminine of fox. It was formed by a change in the root vowel of fox and the addition of a suffix -e or -en. Besides being one of the rare southern English dialect forms to have come into standard English, vixen is also the only survival of this type of feminine noun in the modern language.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
vixen
(ˈvɪksən)n
1. (Animals) a female fox
2. a quarrelsome or spiteful woman
[C15: fixen; related to Old English fyxe, feminine of fox; compare Old High German fuhsīn]
ˈvixenish adj
ˈvixenishly adv
ˈvixenishness n
ˈvixenly adv, adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
vix•en
(ˈvɪk sən)n.
1. a female fox.
2. an ill-tempered or quarrelsome woman.
[1375–1425; late Middle English (south); replacing earlier fixen, Middle English (north), for Old English fyxe, feminine of fox fox (compare Old High German fuhsin vixen)]
vix′en•ish, vix′en•ly, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Noun | 1. | vixen - a malicious woman with a fierce temper disagreeable woman, unpleasant woman - a woman who is an unpleasant person |
2. | vixen - a female fox fox - alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
vixen
noun shrew, fury, spitfire, virago, harpy, scold, harridan, termagant (rare), hellcat, Xanthippe, ballbreaker (slang) She claims she has been caricatured as a vampish vixen by the press.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
vixen
nounThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
ثَعْلَبَه
liška
hunræv
vulpino
naaraskettu
nőstény róka
refalæîa
lapsu mātīte
dişi tilki
vixen
[ˈvɪksn] NCollins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
vixen
n (Zool) → Füchsin f; (fig) → zänkisches Weib, Drachen m (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
vixen
(ˈviksn) noun a female fox. The vixen was followed by her cubs.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.