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Glite Dictionary
black-backed jackal

black-backed jackal

8.3
A small wild dog with black fur on its back and shoulders that lives in Africa
  • noun
  • /blæk bækt ˈdʒækəl/
  • South African
translation icon : chacal de espalda negra
  • In Africa, the black-backed jackal often hunts in pairs to catch small animals.

Examples

  • The black-backed jackal is known for its distinctive black fur along its back and shoulders.

  • CDV infected African wild dogs in 1968 and black-backed jackals and bat-eared foxes in 1978.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Wildlife enthusiasts love observing the behaviors of the black-backed jackal in their natural habitat.

Synonyms

Canis mesomelas
vsblack-backed jackal
  • Specialized
9.9

A small wild dog from southern Africa with a black stripe on its back

is the common name rather than the scientific label

Surface Forms

black-backed jackal singular
black-backed jackals plural

Morphology

black-backed + jackal

The noun phrase is compositionally built: 'black-backed' transparently means 'having a black back' (black + -backed) and 'jackal' names the animal, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer 'a jackal with a black back'. This adjective+noun naming pattern for animals is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English compounding, so the meaning is immediately recoverable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Black-backed jackal gets its name from the animal's look: a clear black stripe along its back and shoulders. So, the name simply describes 'a jackal species with black fur on its back'.