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animal

Overview

This page has 54 definitions of animal with English translations in 15 languages. Animal is a noun, an adjective, interjection and adverb. Examples of how to use animal in a sentence are shown. Also define these 74 related words and terms: sciences, Animalia, multicellular, organism, mobile, cell, cell wall, plant, fungi, beast, creature, chameleon, human, vertebrate, fish, insect, brute, monster, savage, type, matter, thing, animals, beastly, bestial, animalistic, untamed, wild, spirit, soul, animal, derogatory, contemptible, crazy, humorous, ruthless, pity, compassion, cruel, pitiless, disgust, anger, bête, bestiole, végétal, zannimo, ayup, living, sentience, sapience, beste, biology, cool, awesome, besta, bicho, twat, idiot, moron, idiota, retardado, burro, imbecil, débil mental, monstro, brutal, brutally, halimaw, hayop, brutish, person, inhuman, bruto, and abus.

See also: Animal and animâl

English

Pronunciation

mammal
fish
amphibian
reptile
bird
insect

Etymology 1

From Middle English animal, from Old French animal, from Latin animal, a nominal use of an adjective from animale, neuter of animālis, from anima (“breath, spirit”). Displaced native Middle English deor, der (“animal”) (from Old English dēor (“animal”)), Middle English reother (“animal, neat”) (from Old English hrīþer, hrȳþer (“neat, ox”)).

Noun

animal (plural animals)

  1. (sciences) A eukaryote of the clade Animalia; a multicellular organism that is usually mobile, whose cells are not encased in a rigid cell wall (distinguishing it from plants and fungi) and which derives energy solely from the consumption of other organisms (distinguishing it from plants).
    A cat is an animal, not a plant. Humans are also animals, under the scientific definition, as we are not plants.
    Synonyms: beast, creature
    • 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Cameleon”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], OCLC 152706203, 3rd book, page 133:
      It cannot be denied it [the chameleon] is (if not the moſt of any) a very abſtemious animall, and ſuch as by reaſon of its frigidity, paucity of bloud, and latitancy in the winter (about which time the obſervations are often made) will long ſubſist without a viſible ſuſtentation.
    • Cell Wall definition
      A thick, fairly rigid, layer formed around individual cells of bacteria, Archaea, fungi, plants, and algae (but not animals and other protists which generally have cell membranes without cell walls). The cell wall is external to the cell membrane and serves a structural function helping the cell maintain its shape and protecting the cell from damage.
    • Plant definition
      An organism that is not an animal, especially an organism capable of photosynthesis. Typically a small or herbaceous organism of this kind, rather than a tree. (1 of 17 plant definitions)
  2. (loosely) Any member of the kingdom Animalia other than a human.
    Synonym: beast
  3. (loosely, colloquial) Any land-living vertebrate (i.e. not fishes, insects, etc.).
    • 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
      Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
    • Vertebrate definition
      Having a backbone.
  4. (figuratively) A person who behaves wildly; a bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, or inhuman person.
    My students are animals.
    Synonyms: brute, monster, savage
  5. (informal) A person of a particular type.
    He's a political animal.
  6. Matter, thing.
    a whole different animal
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
 
Translations
See animal/translations § Noun.

Etymology 2

From Latin animālis, from either anima (“breath, spirit”) or animus. Originally distinct from the noun, it became associated with attributive use of the noun and is now indistinguishable from it.

Adjective

animal (not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to animals.
    animal instincts
    Synonyms: beastly, bestial
    • Bestial definition
      Beast-like
  2. Raw, base, unhindered by social codes.
    animal passions
    Synonyms: animalistic, beastly, bestial, untamed, wild
    • Wild definition
      Untamed; not domesticated; specifically, in an unbroken line of undomesticated animals (as opposed to feral, referring to undomesticated animals whose ancestors were domesticated). (1 of 17 wild definitions)
  3. Pertaining to the spirit or soul; relating to sensation or innervation.
    • 2003, Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason (Penguin 2004), page 47:
      To explain what activated the flesh, ‘animal spirits’ were posited, superfine fluids which shuttled between the mind and the vitals, conveying messages and motion.
    • Soul definition
      The spirit or essence of a person usually thought to consist of one's thoughts and personality, often believed to live on after the person's death. (1 of 7 soul definitions)
  4. (slang, Ireland) Excellent
Derived terms
 
Translations

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin animal.

Adjective

animal (epicene, plural animales)

  1. animal

Noun

animal m (plural animales)

  1. animal

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin animal.

Pronunciation

Adjective

animal (masculine and feminine plural animals)

  1. animal

Noun

animal m (plural animals)

  1. animal

Derived terms

Further reading

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish animal, from Latin animal, a nominal use of an adjective from animale, neuter of animālis, from anima (“breath, spirit”).

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: a‧ni‧mal
  • IPA(key): /ʔaniˈmal/, [ʔʌn̪ɪˈmal̪]

Noun

animál

  1. animal
  2. (derogatory) a contemptible person
  3. (sometimes humurous), a crazy person

Adjective

animál

  1. (sometimes humorous), crazy
  2. contemptible, deserving contempt
  3. ruthless; without pity or compassion; cruel, pitiless

Interjection

animál

  1. (vulgar) used as an expression of disgust, anger, etc.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin animal. Compare the archaic inherited doublet aumaille and its variant armaille, both from the Latin neuter plural animālia.

Pronunciation

Noun

animal m (plural animaux)

  1. animal
    Synonyms: bête, bestiole

Derived terms

 

Adjective

animal (feminine animale, masculine plural animaux, feminine plural animales)

  1. animal
    Synonym: bestial
    Antonym: végétal
    • Végétal definition
      plant

Further reading

Anagrams

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin animal.

Adjective

animal m or f (plural animais)

  1. animal

Noun

animal m (plural animais)

  1. animal

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French animal, from Latin animal.

Noun

animal

  1. animal
    Synonym: zannimo
    • Zannimo definition
      animal

Ilocano

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish animal.

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: a‧ni‧mal
  • IPA(key): /ʔaniˈmal/, [ʔɐ.niˈmal]

Noun

animál

  1. animal
    Synonym: ayup

Interlingua

Pronunciation

Noun

animal (plural animales)

  1. animal

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese animal.

Noun

animal

  1. beast
  2. animal

Latin

Etymology

From animāle, nominative neuter singular of animālis.

Pronunciation

Noun

animal n (genitive animālis); third declension

  1. animal
  2. living creature

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, “pure” i-stem).

Case Singular Plural
Nominative animal animālia
Genitive animālis animālium
Dative animālī animālibus
Accusative animal animālia
Ablative animālī animālibus
Vocative animal animālia

Synonyms

Related terms

 

Descendants

References

  • “animal”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “animal”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • animal in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • animal in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
  • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • animate and inanimate nature: animata (animalia) inanimaque (not inanimata)
    • domestic animals: animalia quae nobiscum degunt (Plin. 8. 40)

Middle English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aniˈmaːl/, /aˈnimal/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French animal, from Latin animal.

Alternative forms

Noun

animal (plural animales)

  1. An animal (considered to include humans)
Descendants
References

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin animālis.

Alternative forms

Adjective

animal

  1. Related to the soul or spirit of a living being (i.e. sentience or sapience)
    • Sapience definition
      The property of being sapient, the property of possessing or being able to possess wisdom.
Descendants
References

Middle French

Noun

animal m (plural animaux or animaulx)

  1. animal
    Synonym: beste
    • Beste definition
      other

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Portuguese animal and Spanish animal.

Noun

animal

  1. beast
  2. animal

Portuguese

FWOTD – 4 October 2020

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin animal. Doublet of alimária.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: a‧ni‧mal

Adjective

animal m or f (plural animais)

  1. (biology) animal (relating to animals)
    • 2000, Julio S. Inglez de Sousa et al., Enciclopédia agrícola brasileira: E-H, Editora da Universidade de São Paulo, page 225:
      Em anatomia animal o termo é de uso muito comum, […]
      The term is very commonly used in animal anatomy, […]
  2. (derogatory, of a person) brute (senseless, unreasoning)
  3. (Brazil, colloquial) cool; awesome
    • 2015, Juliana Rosenthal K., Save the Day, Buqui, page 52:
      É, tava animal mesmo — Bia mal consegue falar.
      Yeah, it really was wild — Bia can barely speak.

Inflection

Inflection of animal
singular plural
masculine feminine masculine feminine
positive animal animal animais animais
comparative mais animal mais animal mais animais mais animais
superlative o mais animal
animalíssimo 		a mais animal
animalíssima 		os mais animais
animalíssimos 		as mais animais
animalíssimas
augmentative — — — —
diminutive — — — —

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:animal.

Noun

animal m (plural animais)

  1. (biology) animal (any member of the kingdom Animalia)
    • 2020, Petrônio Braz, Léxico dos Gerais, Chiado Books, page 481:
      Primatas — Animais mamíferos, da ordem Primata, que compreende os macacos, antropóides e o homem.
      Primates — Mammalian animals, of the order Primata, which comprises monkeys/apes, anthropoids and man.
  2. (non-scientific usage) animal (an animal other than a human, especially a vertebrate)
    • Daniela Ikawa, Valor humano intrínseco e redistribuição social in 2007, Flávia Piovesan, Daniela Ikawa, Direitos Humanos: Fundamento, Proteção e Implementação, volume 2, Juruá Editora, page 44:
      Separar os dois grupos — humanos e animais requereria, dentro dos limites da teoria relativa à dor e ao sofrimento, […]
      Separating the twe groups — humans and animals would require, within the limits of the theory relating to pain and suffering, […]
    Synonyms: besta, bicho
    • Besta definition
      first-person singular present indicative of bestaan (1 of 3 besta definitions)
    • Bicho definition
      bug (alternative form of becho)
  3. (colloquial) twat; idiot; moron
    • 1979, Wilson Bacelar de Oliveira, Os meus fantasmas, Editora Comunicação, page 490:
      Escute aqui, seu animal, então você brigou com o companheiro?
      Listen up, you dumbass, so you fought with [your] mate?
    Synonyms: idiota, retardado, burro, imbecil, débil mental, besta
    • Burro definition
      A small donkey, especially when used as a pack animal or one that is feral and lives in the southwestern United States or northern Mexico.
    • Imbecil definition
      imbecile
    • Débil Mental definition
      retard (person with mental retardation)
  4. (colloquial) beast (a cruel person)
    • 2007, Creso Balduíno, O verso do ser, Editora Revan, page 170:
      Josuel é um animal repulsivo, uma besta humana.
      Josuel is a repulsive beast, a human beast.
    Synonym: monstro
    • Monstro definition
      i wonder (if)

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:animal.

Derived terms

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French animal, from Latin animal. Doublet of nămaie.

Pronunciation

Adjective

animal m or n (feminine singular animală, masculine plural animali, feminine and neuter plural animale)

  1. animal, animalistic
  2. brutal

Declension

Declension of animal
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite animal animală animali animale
definite animalul animala animalii animalele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite animal animale animali animale
definite animalului animalei animalilor animalelor

Adverb

animal

  1. brutally

Noun

animal n (plural animale)

  1. animal

Declension

Declension of animal
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) animal animalul (niște) animale animalele
genitive/dative (unui) animal animalului (unor) animale animalelor
vocative animalule animalelor

Romansch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin animal.

Noun

animal m (plural animals)

  1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Vallader) animal

Synonyms

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin animal. See also alimaña, an inherited doublet.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aniˈmal/, [a.niˈmal]
  • Audio (Spain)(file)
  • Rhymes: -al

Adjective

animal (plural animales)

  1. animal

Noun

animal m (plural animales)

  1. animal

Derived terms

 

Related terms

 

Further reading

Anagrams

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish animal.

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: a‧ni‧mal
  • IPA(key): /ʔaniˈmal/, [ʔɐ.nɪˈmal]

Noun

animál

  1. beast; brute; creature
    Synonyms: halimaw, hayop
    • Halimaw definition
      a monster; a terrifying and dangerous creature
  2. (derogatory) brutish person; inhuman person
    Synonyms: hayop, bruto, bestiya
    • Bruto definition
      gross (excluding deductions)

Derived terms

  • kaanimalan
  • pagkaanimal
 

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English animal.

Noun

animal

  1. animal (members of Kingdom Animalia that are not humans)
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:25:
      God i kamapim ol kain kain animal bilong ples na ol bikpela na liklik animal bilong bus. God i lukim olgeta dispela samting i gutpela, na em i amamas.
      →New International Version translation
    Synonym: abus
    • Abus definition
      abuse (improper usage)
This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.
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