felineadj.n.
/ˈfiːlʌɪn/, U.S. /ˈfiˌlaɪn/ A. adj.
a. Of or pertaining to cats or their species, cat-like in form or structure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > felis domesticus (cat) > [adjective]
feline1681
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis 16 From which [the Bevir] he [the Otter] differs..in his Tail, which is feline, or a long Taper.
1833 C. Bell Hand (1834) 149 The feline quadrupeds.
1850 C. Lyell 2nd Visit U.S. (ed. 2) II. 335 The feline tribe and the foxes.
1876 C. M. Davies Unorthodox London (rev. ed.) 159 Fanaticism has within it a more than feline tenacity of life.
b. Resembling a cat in any respect, cat-like in character or quality.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > felis domesticus (cat) > [adjective] > resembling a cat
cattish1598
pussy1842
feline1843
pussycat1867
feliform-
1843 E. Bulwer-Lytton Last of Barons I. i. i. 13 The feline care with which he stepped aside from any patches of mire.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xli. 204 Human madness is oftentimes a..most feline thing.
B. n.
An animal of the cat tribe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > [noun]
cat1607
feline1861
felid-
1861 J. G. Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. (new ed.) I. 196 The large savage feline that ranges the waste lands.
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 14 Oct. 3/3 The eyes are..as bright as a feline's in the dark.
Derivatives
ˈfelinely adv. in a feline manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > felis domesticus (cat) > [adverb]
felinely1848
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold II. vii. iv. 184 The rings through which scratched so felinely the paw of..Griffin.
1862 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia III. xiv. v. 672 Noailles has us in a perfect mousetrap, souricière as he felinely calls it.
1893 National Observer 25 Mar. 467/2 His gait was felinely nimble.
ˈfelineness n. the state of being feline.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1681