rapacious

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

rapacious (rəˈpeɪʃəs)

—*adj*
1.	practising pillage or rapine
2.	greedy or grasping
3.	(of animals, esp birds) subsisting by catching living prey

[C17: from Latin rapāx grasping, from rapere to seize]

ra'paciously

—*adv*

rapacity

—n

ra'paciousness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

rapacious

1650s, from L. rapaci-, stem of rapax "grasping," from rapere (see rapacity) + -ous.

Example sentences

The errant polychaetes are generally rapacious, and free-living.

Many see him as a power-mad, rapacious right-wing vulgarian.

Insurance companies are rapacious and are not in the business of optimizing

care.

The oligarchs, as they were known, were rapacious sorts who jousted among

themselves for spoils.

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jaeger open-mouthed predacious voracious vulturine wolf

Matching Quote

"Fortunately for those who pay their court through such foibles, a fond mother, though, in pursuit of praise for her children, the most rapacious of human beings, is likewise the most credulous; her demands are exorbitant; but she will swallow any thing."

-Jane Austen