jackal
/ˈd͡ʒækəl/ noun, verb
Forms jackals jackaling jackalling jackaled jackalled
- noun Any of certain wild canids of the genera Lupulella and Canis, native to the tropical Old World and smaller than a wolf.
- noun A person who performs menial or routine tasks; a dogsbody.
- noun (figurative, derogatory) A person who behaves in an opportunistic way; especially, a base collaborator.
- noun (rugby union) A player who steals the ball at the tackle.
- noun (slang, card games, rare) A jack (the playing card).
- verb To perform menial or routine tasks
Synonyms
jackall chacal quisling collaborationist collaborator collaboratress collaboratrix quisler Canis aureus
Etymology
Borrowed from French chacal, chacale, checale, schakal, ciacale, from Turkish çakal, from Ottoman Turkish چقال (çakâl), from Classical Persian شغال (šaġāl), borrowed from Sanskrit शृगाल (śṛgāla, “jackal”), the alternative form of सृगाल (sṛgāla).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any one of several species of carnivorous animals inhabiting Africa and Asia, related to the dog and wolf. They are cowardly, nocturnal, and gregarious. They feed largely on carrion, and are noted for their piercing and dismal howling.
- noun One who does mean work for another's advantage, as jackals were once thought to kill game which lions appropriated. [Colloq.] Ld.
Etymology [Pers. shaghal: cf. OF. jackal, F. chacal; cf. Skr. ç\'f0gala.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “jackal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details