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Glite Dictionary
strand wolf

strand wolf

9.9
A wild animal like a hyena that eats dead animals and lives in southern Africa
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : hiena parda
  • The strand wolf plays an important role in the ecosystem by scavenging carrion.

Examples

  • The strand wolf is rarely seen during the day as it is primarily nocturnal.

  • Farmers in Namibia sometimes encounter a strand wolf near their livestock.

  • Look at that strand wolf!

  • The strand wolf is often misunderstood.

  • Farmers in Namibia sometimes encounter a strand wolf near their livestock.

  • The strand wolf is rarely seen during the day as it is primarily nocturnal.

  • The strand wolf plays an important role in the ecosystem by scavenging carrion.

Synonyms

brown hyena
vsstrand wolf
  • South African
7.4

A shaggy brown African hyena that eats dead animals at night

is simply another common name for the same species
Hyaena brunnea
vsstrand wolf
  • Specialized
9.9

A hyena from southern Africa with shaggy dark brown fur that is active at night

is an alternative common name rather than the formal scientific label

Surface Forms

strand wolf singular
strand wolves plural

Morphology

strand + wolf

A B1 learner who knows 'strand' (shore) and 'wolf' would infer something like 'a wolf on the beach' rather than the species brown hyena; the MWE refers to a regional name (from Afrikaans) for a different animal and its meaning is not compositionally derivable from the parts. Because the intended referent (brown hyena) is not predictable from the constituents and is region-specific, the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Strand wolf may come from words used by early people in southern Africa: strand meant 'beach' and wolf described a wild, dog-like animal. People saw the brown hyena looking for food on the beach, so the name came to mean that animal.