hircine

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
12
Words With Friends
13
Letters
7
Pronunciation
/ˈhɜːsaɪn/
See all 3 pronunciations
/ˈhɜːsaɪn/ · /ˈhɝsaɪn/(US) · /ˈhɝsɪn/(US)

Definition of hircine

4 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. (not-comparable)Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of goats.
    “They are monſtrouſly fat, and have a moſt hircine ſmell.”
    “1838, Hypericaceæ, entry in The Penny Cyclopaedia, Volume 12, page 411, Many are objects of ornament, but they are little cultivated because they have frequently a disagreeable hircine odour.”
    “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.”
    “Linnæus formed seven classes of odours of medicines; namely, the aromatic, fragrant, ambrosiac, alliaceous, hircine, fetid, and nauseous.”
See all 4 definitions

adj

  1. (not-comparable)Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of goats.
    “They are monſtrouſly fat, and have a moſt hircine ſmell.”
    “1838, Hypericaceæ, entry in The Penny Cyclopaedia, Volume 12, page 411, Many are objects of ornament, but they are little cultivated because they have frequently a disagreeable hircine odour.”
    “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.”
    “Linnæus formed seven classes of odours of medicines; namely, the aromatic, fragrant, ambrosiac, alliaceous, hircine, fetid, and nauseous.”
  2. Possessed of an odour reminiscent of goats.
  3. Libidinous; lustful.

noun

  1. (uncountable)A fossil amorphous resin which, when burnt, gives off a pungent, hircinous aroma.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

First attested in its present form in 1650–1660: From Middle English hircyne, from Latin hircīnus (“of a goat”, “goat-scented”); equivalent to hircus (“a male goat”) + -īnus (“-ine”). Cognate with French hircin. By surface analysis, hirc- (“buck, male goat”) + -ine. Compare caprine, haedine.

Anagrams of hircine

1 play · some not in Scrabble

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