jackals
Variant of jackal
jackal
definition
jackal (jak′əl, -ôl′)
noun pl. jackals -·als or jackal -·al
- 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
- 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
- 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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