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wolf in sheep's clothing

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wolf

  [woolf] noun, plural wolves  [woolvz] , verb
Use wolf in sheep's clothing 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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wolf   (wŏŏlf)   
n.   pl. wolves (wŏŏlvz)

    1. Either of two carnivorous mammals of the family Canidae, especially the gray wolf of northern regions, that typically live and hunt in hierarchical packs and prey on livestock and game animals.

    2. The fur of such an animal.

    3. Any of various similar or related mammals, such as the hyena.

    4. A harshness in some tones of a bowed stringed instrument produced by defective vibration.

    5. Dissonance in perfect fifths on a keyboard instrument tuned to a system of unequal temperament.

  2. The destructive larva of any of various moths, beetles, or flies.

  3. One that is regarded as predatory, rapacious, and fierce.

  4. Slang A man given to paying unwanted sexual attention to women.

  5. Music

    1. A harshness in some tones of a bowed stringed instrument produced by defective vibration.

    2. Dissonance in perfect fifths on a keyboard instrument tuned to a system of unequal temperament.

tr.v.   wolfed, wolf·ing, wolfs
To eat greedily or voraciously: "The town's big shots were ... wolfing down the buffet" (Ralph Ellison).

[Middle English, from Old English wulf; see wkwo- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Cultural Dictionary

wolf in sheep's clothing

Figuratively, anyone who disguises a ruthless nature through an outward show of innocence. Jesus taught his followers to “beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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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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Idioms & Phrases

wolf in sheep's clothing

An enemy disguised as a friend, as in Dan was a wolf in sheep's clothing, pretending to help but all the while spying for our competitors. This term comes from the ancient fable about a wolf that dresses up in the skin of a sheep and sneaks up on a flock. This fable has given rise to a rich history of allusions as in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus speaks of false prophets in sheep's clothing, "but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15).

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