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9 dictionary results for: animal
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
an·i·mal       [an-uh-muhl] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.any member of the kingdom Animalia, comprising multicellular organisms that have a well-defined shape and usually limited growth, can move voluntarily, actively acquire food and digest it internally, and have sensory and nervous systems that allow them to respond rapidly to stimuli: some classification schemes also include protozoa and certain other single-celled eukaryotes that have motility and animallike nutritional modes.
2.any such living thing other than a human being.
3.a mammal, as opposed to a fish, bird, etc.
4.the physical, sensual, or carnal nature of human beings; animality: the animal in every person.
5.an inhuman person; brutish or beastlike person: She married an animal.
6.thing: A perfect job? Is there any such animal?
–adjective
7.of, pertaining to, or derived from animals: animal instincts; animal fats.
8.pertaining to the physical, sensual, or carnal nature of humans, rather than their spiritual or intellectual nature: animal needs.
[Origin: 1300–50; ME (< OF) < L, n. deriv. (with loss of final vowel and shortening of ā) of animāle, neut. of animālis living, animate, equiv. to anim(a) air, breath + -ālis -al1; E adj. also directly < L animālis]

—Related forms
an·i·mal·ic       [an-uh-mal-ik] Pronunciation Key, an·i·ma·li·an       [an-uh-mey-lee-uhn, -meyl-yuhn] Pronunciation Key, adjective

—Synonyms 1, 2. Animal, beast, brute refer to sentient creatures as distinct from minerals and plants; figuratively, they usually connote qualities and characteristics below the human level. Animal is the general word; figuratively, it applies merely to the body or to animal-like characteristics: An athlete is a magnificent animal. Beast refers to four-footed animals; figuratively, it suggests a base, sensual nature: A glutton is a beast. Brute implies absence of ability to reason; figuratively, it connotes savagery as well: a drunken brute. 5. monster. 8. fleshly, physical; beastly, brutal. See carnal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
an·i·mal       (ān'ə-məl)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A multicellular organism of the kingdom Animalia, differing from plants in certain typical characteristics such as capacity for locomotion, nonphotosynthetic metabolism, pronounced response to stimuli, restricted growth, and fixed bodily structure.
  2. An animal organism other than a human, especially a mammal.
  3. A person who behaves in a bestial or brutish manner.
  4. A human considered with respect to his or her physical, as opposed to spiritual, nature.
  5. A person having a specified aptitude or set of interests: "that rarest of musical animals, an instrumentalist who is as comfortable on a podium with a stick as he is playing his instrument" (Lon Tuck).

adj.  
  1. Relating to, characteristic of, or derived from an animal or animals: animal fat.
  2. Relating to the physical as distinct from the spiritual nature of people: animal instincts and desires.


[Middle English, from Latin, from animāle, neuter of animālis, living, from anima, soul; see anə- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
animal 
1398 (but rare before end of 16c., and not in K.J.V.), from L. animale, neut. of animalis "living being, being which breathes," from anima "breath, soul" (see animus). Drove out the older beast in common usage. Used of brutish humans from 1588. Animal rights is attested from 1879; animal liberation from 1973. Animal magnetism originally (1784) referred to mesmerism (q.v.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
animal

adjective
1. marked by the appetites and passions of the body; "animal instincts"; "carnal knowledge"; "fleshly desire"; "a sensual delight in eating"; "music is the only sensual pleasure without vice" 

noun
1. a living organism characterized by voluntary movement 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
animal       (ān'ə-məl)  Pronunciation Key 
Any of the multicellular organisms belonging to the kingdom Animalia. All animals are eukaryotes, with each of their cells having a nucleus containing DNA. Most animals develop from a blastula and have a digestive tract, nervous system, the ability to move voluntarily, and specialized sensory organs for recognizing and responding to stimuli in the environment. Animals are heterotrophs, feeding on plants, other animals, or organic matter. The first animals probably evolved from protists and appeared during the Precambrian Era.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

animal an·i·mal (ān'ə-məl)
n.

  1. A multicellular organism with membranous cell walls of the kingdom Animalia, differing from plants in certain typical characteristics such as capacity for locomotion, nonphotosynthetic metabolism, pronounced response to stimuli, restricted growth, and fixed bodily structure.
  2. An animal organism other than a human, especially a mammal.
  3. A human considered with respect to his or her physical, as opposed to spiritual, nature.
adj.
  1. Relating to, characteristic of, or derived from an animal or animals.
  2. Relating to the physical as distinct from the spiritual nature of humans.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Animal

An"i*mal\, n. [L., fr. anima breath, soul: cf. F. animal. See Animate.]

1. An organized living being endowed with sensation and the power of voluntary motion, and also characterized by taking its food into an internal cavity or stomach for digestion; by giving carbonic acid to the air and taking oxygen in the process of respiration; and by increasing in motive power or active aggressive force with progress to maturity.

2. One of the lower animals; a brute or beast, as distinguished from man; as, men and animals.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Animal

An"i*mal\, a. [Cf. F. animal.]

1. Of or relating to animals; as, animal functions.

2. Pertaining to the merely sentient part of a creature, as distinguished from the intellectual, rational, or spiritual part; as, the animal passions or appetites.

3. Consisting of the flesh of animals; as, animal food.

Animal magnetism. See Magnetism and Mesmerism.

Animal electricity, the electricity developed in some animals, as the electric eel, torpedo, etc.

Animal flower (Zo["o]l.), a name given to certain marine animals resembling a flower, as any species of actinia or sea anemone, and other Anthozoa, hydroids, starfishes, etc.

Animal heat (Physiol.), the heat generated in the body of a living animal, by means of which the animal is kept at nearly a uniform temperature.

Animal spirits. See under Spirit.

Animal kingdom, the whole class of beings endowed with animal life. It embraces several subkingdoms, and under these there are Classes, Orders, Families, Genera, Species, and sometimes intermediate groupings, all in regular subordination, but variously arranged by different writers.

Note: The following are the grand divisions, or subkingdoms, and the principal classes under them, generally recognized at the present time: Vertebrata, including Mammalia or Mammals, Aves or Birds, Reptilia, Amphibia, Pisces or Fishes, Marsipobranchiata (Craniota); and Leptocardia (Acrania). Tunicata, including the Thaliacea, and Ascidioidea or Ascidians. Articulata or Annulosa, including Insecta, Myriapoda, Malacapoda, Arachnida, Pycnogonida, Merostomata, Crustacea (Arthropoda); and Annelida, Gehyrea (Anarthropoda). Helminthes or Vermes, including Rotifera, Ch[ae]tognatha, Nematoidea, Acanthocephala, Nemertina, Turbellaria, Trematoda, Cestoidea, Mesozea. Molluscoidea, including Brachiopoda and Bryozoa. Mollusca, including Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Pteropoda, Scaphopoda, Lamellibranchiata or Acephala. Echinodermata, including Holothurioidea, Echinoidea, Asterioidea, Ophiuroidea, and Crinoidea. C[oe]lenterata, including Anthozoa or Polyps, Ctenophora, and Hydrozoa or Acalephs. Spongiozoa or Porifera, including the sponges. Protozoa, including Infusoria and Rhizopoda. For definitions, see these names in the Vocabulary.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Animal

an organized living creature endowed with sensation. The Levitical law divided animals into clean and unclean, although the distinction seems to have existed before the Flood (Gen. 7:2). The clean could be offered in sacrifice and eaten. All animals that had not cloven hoofs and did not chew the cud were unclean. The list of clean and unclean quadrupeds is set forth in the Levitical law (Deut. 14:3-20; Lev. 11).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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