Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Wolf \Wolf\, n.; pl. {Wolves}. [OE. wolf, wulf, AS. wulf; akin
   to OS. wulf, D. & G. wolf, Icel. [=u]lfr, Sw. ulf, Dan. ulv,
   Goth. wulfs, Lith. vilkas, Russ. volk', L. lupus, Gr. ly`kos,
   Skr. v[.r]ka; also to Gr. "e`lkein to draw, drag, tear in
   pieces. [root]286. Cf. {Lupine}, a., {Lyceum}.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of wild and savage
      carnivores belonging to the genus {Canis} and closely
      allied to the common dog. The best-known and most
      destructive species are the European wolf ({Canis lupus}),
      the American gray, or timber, wolf ({C. occidentalis}),
      and the prairie wolf, or coyote. Wolves often hunt in
      packs, and may thus attack large animals and even man.

   2. (Zo["o]l.) One of the destructive, and usually hairy,
      larv[ae] of several species of beetles and grain moths;
      as, the bee wolf.

   3. Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person
      or thing; especially, want; starvation; as, they toiled
      hard to keep the wolf from the door.

   4. A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries.

   5. An eating ulcer or sore. Cf. {Lupus}. [Obs.]

            If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf
            into thy side.                        --Jer. Taylor.

   6. (Mus.)
      (a) The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an
          organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament.
      (b) In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective
          vibration in certain notes of the scale.

   7. (Textile Manuf.) A willying machine. --Knight.

   {Black wolf}. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) A black variety of the European wolf which is common
          in the Pyrenees.
      (b) A black variety of the American gray wolf.

   {Golden wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the Thibetan wolf ({Canis
      laniger}); -- called also {chanco}.

   {Indian wolf} (Zo["o]l.), an Asiatic wolf ({Canis pallipes})
      which somewhat resembles a jackal. Called also {landgak}.
      

   {Prairie wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the coyote.

   {Sea wolf}. (Zo["o]l.) See in the Vocabulary.

   {Strand wolf} (Zo["o]l.) the striped hyena.

   {Tasmanian wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the zebra wolf.

   {Tiger wolf} (Zo["o]l.), the spotted hyena.

   {To keep the wolf from the door}, to keep away poverty; to
      prevent starvation. See {Wolf}, 3, above. --Tennyson.

   {Wolf dog}. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) The mastiff, or shepherd dog, of the Pyrenees,
          supposed by some authors to be one of the ancestors of
          the St. Bernard dog.
      (b) The Irish greyhound, supposed to have been used
          formerly by the Danes for chasing wolves.
      (c) A dog bred between a dog and a wolf, as the Eskimo
          dog.

   {Wolf eel} (Zo["o]l.), a wolf fish.

   {Wolf fish} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large,
      voracious marine fishes of the genus {Anarrhichas},
      especially the common species ({A. lupus}) of Europe and
      North America. These fishes have large teeth and powerful
      jaws. Called also {catfish}, {sea cat}, {sea wolf}, {stone
      biter}, and {swinefish}.

   {Wolf net}, a kind of net used in fishing, which takes great
      numbers of fish.

   {Wolf's peach} (Bot.), the tomato, or love apple
      ({Lycopersicum esculentum}).

   {Wolf spider} (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of
      running ground spiders belonging to the genus {Lycosa}, or
      family {Lycosid[ae]}. These spiders run about rapidly in
      search of their prey. Most of them are plain brown or
      blackish in color. See Illust. in App.

   {Zebra wolf} (Zo["o]l.), a savage carnivorous marsupial
      ({Thylacinus cynocephalus}) native of Tasmania; -- called
      also {Tasmanian wolf}.

Zebra \Ze"bra\, n. [Pg. zebra; cf. Sp. cebra; probably from a
   native African name.] (Zo["o]l.)
   Either one of two species of South African wild horses
   remarkable for having the body white or yellowish white, and
   conspicuously marked with dark brown or brackish bands.

   Note: The true or mountain zebra ({Equus, or Asinus, zebra})
         is nearly white, and the bands which cover the body and
         legs are glossy black. Its tail has a tuft of black
         hair at the tip. It inhabits the mountains of Central
         and Southern Africa, and is noted for its wariness and
         wildness, as well as for its swiftness. The second
         species ({Equus, or Asinus, Burchellii}), known as
         {Burchell's zebra}, and {dauw}, inhabits the grassy
         plains of South Africa, and differs from the preceding
         in not having dark bands on the legs, while those on
         the body are more irregular. It has a long tail,
         covered with long white flowing hair.

   {Zebra caterpillar}, the larva of an American noctuid moth
      ({Mamestra picta}). It is light yellow, with a broad black
      stripe on the back and one on each side; the lateral
      stripes are crossed with withe lines. It feeds on
      cabbages, beets, clover, and other cultivated plants.

   {Zebra opossum}, the zebra wolf. See under {Wolf}.

   {Zebra parrakeet}, an Australian grass parrakeet, often kept
      as a cage bird. Its upper parts are mostly pale greenish
      yellow, transversely barred with brownish black crescents;
      the under parts, rump, and upper tail coverts, are bright
      green; two central tail feathers and the cheek patches are
      blue. Called also {canary parrot}, {scallop parrot},
      {shell parrot}, and {undulated parrot}.

   {Zebra poison} (Bot.), a poisonous tree ({Euphorbia arborea})
      of the Spurge family, found in South Africa. Its milky
      juice is so poisonous that zebras have been killed by
      drinking water in which its branches had been placed, and
      it is also used as an arrow poison. --J. Smith (Dict.
      Econ. Plants).

   {Zebra shark}. Same as {Tiger shark}, under {Tiger}.

   {Zebra spider}, a hunting spider.

   {Zebra swallowtail}, a very large North American
      swallow-tailed butterfly ({Iphiclides ajax}), in which the
      wings are yellow, barred with black; -- called also
      {ajax}.

   {Zebra wolf}. See under {Wolf}.