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fox

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fox

[foks] noun, plural fox⋅es, (especially collectively) fox, verb
–noun
1. any of several carnivores of the dog family, esp. those of the genus Vulpes, smaller than wolves, having a pointed, slightly upturned muzzle, erect ears, and a long, bushy tail.
2. the fur of this animal.
3. a cunning or crafty person.
4. (initial capital letter) a member of a tribe of North American Algonquian Indians, formerly in Wisconsin, later merged with the Sauk tribe.
5. (initial capital letter) the Algonquian language of the Fox, Sauk, and Kickapoo Indians.
6. Bible. a scavenger, perhaps the jackal. Psalms 63:10; Lam. 5:18.
7. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter F: replaced by Foxtrot.
8. Slang. an attractive young woman or young man.
–verb (used with object)
9. to deceive or trick.
10. to repair or make (a shoe) with leather or other material applied so as to cover or form part of the upper front.
11. Obsolete. to intoxicate or befuddle.
–verb (used without object)
12. to act cunningly or craftily.
13. (of book leaves, prints, etc.) to become foxed.

Origin:
bef. 900; 1960–65 for def. 9; ME, OE; c. OS vohs, MLG vos, OHG fuhs (G Fuchs). Cf. vixen


foxlike, adjective

Fox

[foks]
–noun
1. Charles James, 1749–1806, British orator and statesman.
2. George, 1624–91, English religious leader and writer: founder of the Society of Friends.
3. John. Foxe, John.
4. John William, Jr., 1863–1919, U.S. novelist.
5. Margaret, 1833–93, and her sister Katherine (“Kate”), 1839–92, U.S. spiritualist mediums, born in Canada.
6. Sir William, 1812–93, New Zealand statesman, born in England: prime minister 1856, 1861–62, 1869–72, 1873.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fox   (fŏks)   
n.   pl. fox·es also fox
    1. Any of various carnivorous mammals of the genus Vulpes and related genera, related to the dogs and wolves and characteristically having upright ears, a pointed snout, and a long bushy tail.

    2. The fur of one of these mammals.

  1. A crafty, sly, or clever person.

  2. Slang A sexually attractive person.

  3. Nautical Small cordage made by twisting together two or more strands of tarred yarn.

  4. Archaic A sword.

v.   foxed, fox·ing, fox·es

v.   tr.
  1. To trick or fool by ingenuity or cunning; outwit.

  2. To baffle or confuse.

  3. To make (beer) sour by fermenting.

  4. To repair (a shoe) by attaching a new upper.

  5. Obsolete To intoxicate.

v.   intr.
  1. To act slyly or craftily.

  2. To turn sour in fermenting. Used of beer.


[Middle English, from Old English.]
Fox   (fŏks)   
n.   pl. Fox or Fox·es
    1. A Native American people formerly inhabiting various parts of southern Michigan, southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and eastern Iowa, with present-day populations in central Iowa and with the Sauk in Oklahoma.

    2. A member of this people.

  1. The Algonquian language of the Fox.


[Translation of French Renards, foxes, perhaps translation of Fox wa·koše·haki, foxes (applied as a name to a clan with the totem of a fox).]
Fox, Charles James 1749-1806.  
British politician who supported American independence and the French Revolution.
Fox, George 1624-1691.  
English religious leader who founded the Society of Friends, or Quakers (1647-1648).
Fox, Vicente Born 1942.  
Mexican businessman and politician who served as president (2000-2006), ending 71 years of uninterrupted rule by Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Fox, William Originally Wilhelm Fried. 1879-1952.  
Hungarian-born American motion-picture executive who founded his own film company (1915) and merged with 20th Century Pictures to form 20th Century Fox (1935). His company led in the development of sound movies.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
fox

  1. n.
    an attractive girlor young woman. : Man, who was that fox I saw you with?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

fox 
O.E. fox, from W.Gmc. *fukhs (cf. O.H.G. fuhs, O.N. foa, Goth. fauho), from P.Gmc. base *fuh-, corresponding to PIE *puk- "tail" (cf. Skt. puccha- "tail"). The bushy tail is also the source of words for "fox" in Welsh (llwynog, from llwyn "bush"); Sp. (raposa, from rabo "tail"); Lith. (uodegis "fox," from uodega "tail"). Metaphoric extension to "clever person" is pre-1250. The verb is from 1567. Meaning "sexually attractive woman" is from 1940s; but foxy in this sense is recorded from 1895. Foxed in booksellers' catalogues means "stained with fox-colored marks." Fox-trot (dance) 1915, on notion of a fox's short steps. Foxhole is from O.E. foxhol in the literal sense; the meaning "a soldier's protective hole" is from 1919. Foxglove is O.E. foxes glofa, but the connection is obscure.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Fox

(Heb. shu'al, a name derived from its digging or burrowing under ground), the Vulpes thaleb, or Syrian fox, the only species of this animal indigenous to Palestine. It burrows, is silent and solitary in its habits, is destructive to vineyards, being a plunderer of ripe grapes (Cant. 2:15). The Vulpes Niloticus, or Egyptian dog-fox, and the Vulpes vulgaris, or common fox, are also found in Palestine. The proverbial cunning of the fox is alluded to in Ezek. 13:4, and in Luke 13:32, where our Lord calls Herod "that fox." In Judg. 15:4, 5, the reference is in all probability to the jackal. The Hebrew word _shu'al_ through the Persian _schagal_ becomes our jackal (Canis aureus), so that the word may bear that signification here. The reasons for preferring the rendering "jackal" are (1) that it is more easily caught than the fox; (2) that the fox is shy and suspicious, and flies mankind, while the jackal does not; and (3) that foxes are difficult, jackals comparatively easy, to treat in the way here described. Jackals hunt in large numbers, and are still very numerous in Southern Palestine.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

fox

see crazy like a fox.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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