hircine means of, pertaining to, or characteristic of goats.
hircine is pronounced /ˈhɜːsaɪn/.
Why “hircine” is a great word
Hircine describes that which is of, relating to, or characteristic of a goat, especially its strong odor or lustful nature. From the Latin *hircus* ("he-goat, buck") + *-īnus* ("-ine, pertaining to"), it was first attested in its present form around 1650–1660. Unlike "caprine," which neutrally denotes the biological family, or "lascivious," which broadly describes human lechery, hircine is a word steeped in animal musk and brute instinct. It is the pungent, grassy reek of a barnyard, the unsettling yellow glare of a pupil in twilight, and the crude, ungovernable rutting in the thicket—a reminder of the ancient, untamed biology that persists, odor and all, beneath our civility.
Etymology
First attested in its present form in 1650–1660: From Middle English hircyne, from Latin hircīnus (“of a goat”, “goat-scented”); equivalent to hircus (“a male goat”) + -īnus (“-ine”). Cognate with French hircin. By surface analysis, hirc- (“buck, male goat”) + -ine. Compare caprine, haedine.
adj
- Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of goats.“They are monſtrouſly fat, and have a moſt hircine ſmell.”
- Possessed of an odour reminiscent of goats.
- Libidinous; lustful.
noun
- A fossil amorphous resin which, when burnt, gives off a pungent, hircinous aroma.
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