vulpine

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin vulpīnus (“foxy, fox-like”), from vulpēs, earlier volpēs (“fox”), from Proto-Indo-European *wl(o)p- (“fox”). Cognate with Welsh llywarn (“fox”), Ancient Greek ἀλώπηξ (alṓpēx), Armenian աղուէս (aġuēs), Albanian dhelpër, Lithuanian vilpišỹs (“wildcat”), Sanskrit लोपाश (lopāśa, “jackal, fox”).

adj

1. Pertaining to a fox.
2. Having the characteristics of a fox; foxlike; cunning.

noun

1. Any of certain canids called foxes (including the true foxes, the arctic fox and the grey fox); distinguished from the canines, which are regarded as similar to the dog and wolf.
   The family Canidae consists of two main subgroups, the vulpines (foxes) and the canines (wolves, coyotes, jackals, and dogs), and some intermediate “fox-dog” forms from South America. 1980, Michael Wilson Fox, The Soul of the Wolf, unnumbered page
2. A person considered vulpine (cunning); a fox.