wolf means canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily. It carries an Arena rating of 1422, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, wolf ranks #631 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,706 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,128 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #4,214 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
wolf is pronounced /wʊlf/.
Why “wolf” is a great word
A large carnivorous mammal of the genus Canis, or a person who pursues sexual conquests with predatory aggression. From Old English *wulf*, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz*, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos* ("wolf"). Unlike "lobo," which names a specific North American subspecies with cool, zoological precision, or "lover," which implies mutual affection, "wolf" is a word of solitary hunger. It is the yellow eye caught in the firelight, the silhouette loping across a moonlit ridge, and the cold calculation behind a charming smile—the ancient unease of something watching from just beyond the light, patient, and never truly tamed.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English wolf, from Old English wulf, ƿulf, from Proto-West Germanic *wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos. Doublet of lobo and lupus. Cognates Cognate with Scots wouf, North Frisian wulew, Saterland Frisian and German Low German Wulf, West Frisian, Alemannic German, and Dutch wolf, Bavarian bolf, bölf, Woif, Cimbrian and Mòcheno bolf, German Wolf, Luxembourgish Wollef, Vilamovian wuf, Yiddish וואָלף (volf), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk ulv, Faroese úlvur, Icelandic úlfur, Swedish ulf, ulv, Gothic 𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐍃 (wulfs); also Irish and Scottish Gaelic olc (“bad, evil”), Lepontic 𐌖𐌋𐌊𐌏𐌔 (ulkos), Manx olk (“bad”), Sanskrit वृक (vṛ́ka), Persian گرگ (gorg), Latgalian vylks, Latvian vìlks, Lithuanian vilkas, Belarusian воўк
noun
- Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily.
- Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily.; Any of several related canines that resemble Canis lupus in appearance, especially those of the genus Canis.
- A man who makes amorous advances to many women.
- A wolf tone or wolf note.e.g.“The soft violin solo was marred by persistent wolves.”
- Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation.e.g.“They toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door.”
- One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths.
- A white worm which infests granaries, the larva of Nemapogon granella, a tineid moth.
- A wolf spider (Lycosidae spp.).
- An eating ulcer or sore. See lupus.e.g.“If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side” — 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC:
- A willying machine, that uses willow twigs to cleanse wool.
verb
- To devour; to gobble; to eat (something) voraciously.e.g.“"Here's these legal ferrets has got our Puddin' in their clutches, and here's us, spellbound with anguish, watchin' them wolfin' it."” — 1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 150:
- To make amorous advances to many women; to hit on women; to cruise for sex.
- To hunt for wolves.
name
- The constellation Lupus.
- A surname transferred from the given name.
- A male given name.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).