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Glite Dictionary
Crocuta crocuta

Crocuta crocuta

9.9
A large spotted African animal that eats meat and lives in groups
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : Crocuta crocuta
  • The Crocuta crocuta is recognized for its powerful jaws and social behavior.

Examples

  • The distinctive howl of Crocuta crocuta can be heard from miles away during the night.

  • Researchers observed a pack of Crocuta crocuta hunting cooperatively on the African savannah.

  • The Crocuta crocuta is often misunderstood for its laugh-like vocalizations.

  • Did you know that the Crocuta crocuta can eat bones?

  • Researchers observed a pack of Crocuta crocuta hunting cooperatively on the African savannah.

  • The distinctive howl of Crocuta crocuta can be heard from miles away during the night.

  • The Crocuta crocuta is recognized for its powerful jaws and social behavior.

Synonyms

laughing hyena
vsCrocuta crocuta
  • South African
1 6.1

A large African animal with spots that makes a laugh-like call

is the formal species name used in scientific contexts rather than a nickname
spotted hyena
vsCrocuta crocuta
  • South African
5.1

A large African animal that eats meat, has spots, and makes loud calls that sound like laughter

is the scientific name used in biology for that same animal

Surface Forms

Crocuta crocuta singular
Crocuta crocuta plural

Morphology

Crocuta + Crocuta

Both constituents are a Latin genus name, so a learner who knows 'Crocuta' could infer the expression refers to a hyena, but the exact identification as the spotted hyena (and the convention of tautonymous Latin binomials) depends on taxonomic/Latin knowledge not available to a typical B1 learner. The meaning is therefore partially inferable (hyena) but not fully predictable from the constituent words alone.

Etymology

Crocuta crocuta may come from an old word meaning 'dog-like' or 'jackal', a strong image for the hyena's shape and bark. People used the same word twice, Crocuta, to show this is the typical spotted hyena, so the name helps you remember it refers to the common spotted hyena.