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wolf down

 - 4 dictionary results

wolf

  [woolf] noun, plural wolves  [woolvz] , verb
Use wolf down in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of several large carnivorous mammals of the genus Canis, of the dog family Canidae, esp. C. lupus, usually hunting in packs, formerly common throughout the Northern Hemisphere but now chiefly restricted to the more unpopulated parts of its range.
2. the fur of such an animal.
3. any of various wolflike animals of different families, as the thylacine.
4. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Lupus.
5. the larva of any of various small insects infesting granaries.
6. a cruelly rapacious person.
7. Informal. a man who makes amorous advances to many women.
8. Music.
a. the harsh discord heard in certain chords of keyboard instruments, esp. the organ, when tuned on some system of unequal temperament.
b. a chord or interval in which such a discord appears.
c. (in bowed instruments) a discordant or false vibration in a string due to a defect in structure or adjustment of the instrument.
–verb (used with object)
9. to devour voraciously (often fol. by down): He wolfed his food.
–verb (used without object)
10. to hunt for wolves.
—Idioms
11. cry wolf, to give a false alarm: Is she really sick or is she just crying wolf?
12. keep the wolf from the door, to avert poverty or starvation; provide sufficiently for: Their small inheritance kept the wolf from the door.
13. wolf in sheep's clothing, a person who conceals his or her evil intentions or character beneath an innocent exterior.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE wulf; c. G Wolf, ON ulfr, Goth wulfs, Pol wilk, Lith vil̃kas, Skt vṛka; akin to L lupus, Gk lýkos

Related forms:
wolflike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
wolf

  1. n.
    a bold and aggressive male. (See also fine wolf.) : He sees himself as a lady-killer. The chicks see him as an old-fashioned wolf.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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wolf (sth) down

  1. tv.
    to gobble something up; to bolt down food or drink. : Enjoy your food. Don't just wolf it down.
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

wolf 
O.E. wulf, from P.Gmc. *wulfaz (cf. O.S. wulf, O.N. ulfr, O.Fris., Du., O.H.G., Ger. wolf, Goth. wulfs), from PIE *wlqwos/*lukwos, from base *wlp-/*lup- (cf. Skt. vrkas, Avestan vehrka-; Albanian ulk; O.C.S. vluku; Rus. volcica; Lith. vilkas "wolf;" O.Pers. Varkana- "Hyrcania," district southeast of the Caspian Sea, lit. "wolf-land;" probably also Gk. lykos, L. lupus). The verb meaning "eat like a wolf" is attested from 1862. Wolves as a symbol of lust are ancient, e.g. Roman slang lupa "whore," lit. "she-wolf" (preserved in Sp. loba, It. lupa, Fr. louve). The equation of "wolf" and "prostitute, sexually voracious female" persisted into 12c., but by Elizabethan times wolves had become primarily symbolic of male lust. The specific use of wolf for "sexually aggressive male" first recorded 1847; wolf-whistle first attested 1952. The image of a wolf in sheep's skin is attested from c.1400. See here for a discussion of "wolf" in I.E. history.
"This manne can litle skyl ... to saue himself harmlesse from the perilous accidentes of this world, keping ye wulf from the doore (as they cal it)." ["The Institution of a Gentleman," 1555]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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