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Baron Christian von, Christian von Wolff.
Friedrich August
[free-drikh ou-goo st] /ˈfri drɪx ˈaʊ gʊst/ (Show IPA), 1759–1824, German classical scholar.
Hugo
[hoo-goh] /ˈhu goʊ/ (Show IPA), 1860–1903, Austrian composer.
a male given name.
Christian von
[kris-tee-ahn fuh n] /ˈkrɪs tiˌɑn fən/ (Show IPA), Baron. Also, Wolf, 1679–1754, German philosopher and mathematician.
Kaspar Friedrich
[kahs-pahr free-drikh] /ˈkɑs pɑr ˈfri drɪx/ (Show IPA), 1733–94, German anatomist and physiologist.
noun (pl) wolves (wʊlvz)
a predatory canine mammal, Canis lupus, which hunts in packs and was formerly widespread in North America and Eurasia but is now less common See also timber wolf related adjective lupine
any of several similar and related canines, such as the red wolf and the coyote (prairie wolf)
the fur of any such animal
Tasmanian wolf, another name for the thylacine
a voracious, grabbing, or fiercely cruel person or thing
(informal) a man who habitually tries to seduce women
(informal) the destructive larva of any of various moths and beetles
(music) Also called wolf note

an unpleasant sound produced in some notes played on the violin, cello, etc, owing to resonant vibrations of the belly
an out-of-tune effect produced on keyboard instruments accommodated esp to the system of mean-tone temperament See temperament (sense 4)

cry wolf, to give a false alarm
keep the wolf from the door, to ward off starvation or privation
lone wolf, a person or animal who prefers to be alone
throw to the wolves, to abandon or deliver to destruction
wolf in sheep’s clothing, a malicious person in a harmless or benevolent disguise
verb
(transitive) often foll by down. to gulp (down)
(intransitive) to hunt wolves
noun
Friedrich August (ˈfriːdrɪç ˈauɡʊst). 1759–1824, German classical scholar, who suggested that the Homeric poems, esp the Iliad, are products of an oral tradition
Hugo (ˈhuːɡo). 1860–1903, Austrian composer, esp of songs, including the Italienisches Liederbuch and the Spanisches Liederbuch
(wʊlf) Howlin’. See Howlin’ Wolf
n.

Old English wulf, from Proto-Germanic *wulfaz (cf. Old Saxon wulf, Old Norse ulfr, Old Frisian, Dutch, Old High German, German wolf, Gothic wulfs), from PIE *wlqwos/*lukwos, from root *wlp-/*lup- (cf. Sanskrit vrkas, Avestan vehrka-; Albanian ulk; Old Church Slavonic vluku; Russian volcica; Lithuanian vilkas “wolf;” Old Persian Varkana- “Hyrcania,” district southeast of the Caspian Sea, literally “wolf-land;” probably also Greek lykos, Latin lupus).

This manne can litle skyl … to saue himself harmlesse from the perilous accidentes of this world, keping ye wulf from the doore (as they cal it). [“The Institution of a Gentleman,” 1555]

Wolves as a symbol of lust are ancient, e.g. Roman slang lupa “whore,” literally “she-wolf” (preserved in Spanish loba, Italian lupa, French louve). The equation of “wolf” and “prostitute, sexually voracious female” persisted into 12c., but by Elizabethan times wolves had become primarily symbolic of male lust. The specific use of wolf for “sexually aggressive male” first recorded 1847; wolf-whistle first attested 1952. The image of a wolf in sheep’s skin is attested from c.1400. See here for a discussion of “wolf” in Indo-European history.

v.

“eat like a wolf,” 1862, from wolf (n.). Related: Wolfed; wolfing.

Wolff (vôlf), Kaspar Friedrich. 1733-1794.

German anatomist noted for his pioneering work in embryology. His chief work, Theoria Generationis (1759), refuted the theory of preformation, which held that the embryo is a fully formed miniature adult.

Related Terms

tale of woe

Heb. zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of treachery and cruelty. Jacob’s prophecy, “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf” (Gen. 49:27), represents the warlike character of that tribe (see Judg. 19-21). Isaiah represents the peace of Messiah’s kingdom by the words, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb” (Isa. 11:6). The habits of the wolf are described in Jer. 5:6; Hab. 1:8; Zeph. 3:3; Ezek. 22:27; Matt. 7:15; 10:16; Acts 20:29. Wolves are still sometimes found in Palestine, and are the dread of shepherds, as of old.

In addition to the idiom beginning with
wolf