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fox(1) (iou)



fox noun.
[Old English fox = Old Saxon vuhs (Dutch vos), Old High German fuhs (German Fuchs), from Germanic.]
I.
Any of various sharp-snouted bushy-tailed carnivorous canids distinguished by a flattened skull and erect triangular ears; esp. the red-furred Vulpes vulpes (also red fox), an important beast of the chase in England and proverbial for its cunning. OE.
Arctic fox: see ARCTIC adjective 1b. crazy like a fox, crazy as a fox: see CRAZY adjective 3. fox and geese a game played on a board with pegs, draughtsmen, etc. fox and hounds a game in which one player is pursued by the other players. play the fox (a) act cunningly; (b) sham (illness etc.). white fox: see WHITE adjective.
R. Burns Foxes and statesmen, subtile wiles ensure. W. Holtby Hounds..lost their fox in Lipton Sticks. N. Tinbergen Repeated raids by a fox in the egg-season.
fig.
a. A cunning, sly, or crafty person. OE.
J. Arbuthnot Don't you see how that old fox steals away your customers?
b. A freshman at a college etc. arch. US slang. M19.
c. An attractive woman. N. Amer. slang. M20.
The fur of the fox, esp. as dressed and used for clothing. LME.
POINTED fox.
Any of various animals related to the fox or considered to resemble it in appearance or habits. Usu. with specifying word. L16.
flying-fox, sea-fox, etc.
(Usu. Fox.) Orig. the Fox and Goose. The constellation Vulpecula. L18.
II. Senses of obscure development.
A kind of sword. L16-E18.
A sourness in fermented beer caused during the brewing process. Long rare or obsolete. M18.
Nautical. A strand formed by twisted rope-yarn and used as seizing. M18.
Comb.: fox bane a yellow-flowered aconite, Aconitum vulparia, native to central and southern Europe; foxberry the cowberry; fox-chase (a) arch. a fox-hunt; (b) a game in imitation of this; fox-coloured adjective of a reddish-brown or -yellow colour; fox-fire US the phosphorescent light emitted by certain fungi on decaying timber; fox-fur (a) the dressed coat of a fox; (b) a garment lined or trimmed with such fur; foxglove (a) a tall woodland plant of the figwort family, Digitalis purpurea, which has tall spikes of purple or white bell-shaped flowers and is the source of digitalis; (b) any of various similar plants; esp. (formerly) mullein; fox-grape any of various N. American wild grapes, esp. Vitis labrusca, from which originate many cultivated varieties; foxhole (a) Military a hole in the ground used as a shelter against missiles or as a firing-point; (b) fig. a place of refuge or concealment; foxhound a kind of hound bred and trained to hunt foxes; fox-hunt noun & verb (a) noun a hunt for a fox or foxes with hounds; a meeting or association for this; (b) verb intrans. go fox-hunting; fox-hunter a person who takes part in a fox-hunt; fox-hunting noun the sport or action of hunting a fox or foxes with hounds; fox-hunting ppl adjective that goes fox-hunting; fond of fox-hunting; fox-mark a brown spot or stain in the leaves of a book, a print, etc., caused by damp affecting impurities in the paper; fox moth a reddish-brown European eggar moth, Macrothylacia rubi, with black-and-yellow woolly larvae; fox-red adjective & noun (of) a bright reddish brown; fox shark the thresher shark; fox skin the skin of a fox; fox snake a large harmless colubrid snake of N. America, Elaphe vulpina; fox sparrow a red-tailed N. American sparrow, Zonotrichia iliaca; fox squirrel a squirrel, Sciurus niger, of the eastern US; fox-terrier a short-haired terrier bred for the unearthing of foxes, but kept chiefly as a pet.
foxery noun the characteristics or behaviour of a fox; craftiness, cunning: LME.
foxlike adjective resembling (that of) a fox; esp. crafty, cunning: L16.
foxship noun (a) rare the character or qualities of a fox, foxiness; (b) (with possess. adjective, as
your foxship etc.) joc. a title or form of address given to a fox: E17.