jackals

Variant of jackal

jackal definition

jackal (jak′əl, -ôl′)

noun pl. jackals -·als or jackal -·al

  1. any of several wild dogs of Asia and N Africa, mostly yellowish-gray and smaller than the wolf: they often hunt prey in packs, generally at night, and also eat carrion and certain plants
  2. a person who does dishonest or humiliating tasks for another: from the notion that the jackal hunts game for the lion and eats the leavings
  3. a cheat or swindler

Etymology: Turk chaqāl < Pers shagāl < Sans śrgālá

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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