Beast Mode: An Ark of Animal Words: A Lexical Zoo of Animal Adjectives

Around since the mid-1600s, this term has two related meanings. It means all things eagle-y — though we apologize to the eagle for using such an offhand, unmajestic word of my own for this imposing bird. Aquiline can also apply to the distinctive hook or curve of an eagle’s beak. This term is often used for human noses that have a prominent curve, but remember what your mother said about commenting on someone else’s appearance, OK?

This word for foolish behavior is one of the most transparent animal words, since it derives from asses: in other words, donkeys, who have never been applauded for their sophisticated behavior.

This adjective referring to cows is an insult when applied to people.

Sometimes this word is used for doglike behavior in non-dogs, such as a steadfast person’s canine loyalty. A fun and obscure term is canine letter, also known as the dog’s letter, which is R, because dogs tend to go arrrrrrr or grrrrrrr when they’re in a huff.

We don’t want cat lovers to be excluded, so here’s the cat equivalent. Feline can refer specifically to cats or to the broader cat family, which includes panthers, tigers, and lions, oh my. You can use feline to describe cat-like behavior, appearance, websites, paw prints, or anything else that’s catty.

Dogs are closely related to wolves. Genetically, they’re very similar, though the domesticated dog and wild wolf couldn’t be more different in terms of which you’d rather have as a babysitter. But wolves aren’t canine: they’re lupine.

Around since the 1600s, piscine has been used in all sorts of fish-related contexts. In the 1816 book The Origin of Pagan Idolatry by George Stanley Faber, the term describes a deity of the sea: “Derceto was the piscine ship-goddess of the Syrians.” In an 1854 edition of reference book Orr’s Circles of the Sciences, the term applies to a skeletal pattern, specifically, “The piscine modification of the vertebrate skeleton.” Our favorite piscine thing is sushi. Mmm, sushi.

This word is a few letters removed from porcupine, but that’s just a coincidence. If you notice the similarity of porcine and pork, it’ll help you remember the meaning of this term, which describes pigs, who are also called hogs and swine, which are fightin’ words if you apply them to people. Come to think of it, so is pig.

This term, loosely speaking, means snake-y, in all senses. A long, winding staircase could be called serpentine. A more diabolical sense is defined dramatically by the OED: “Having the evil qualities of the serpent; pertaining to the Serpent as the tempter of mankind; diabolical, Satanic; devilishly wily or cunning.” Then there’s serpentine verse: a line of poetry beginning and ending with the same word, which sort of resembles a snake eating its own tail.

This word describes one of the most impressive animals of all: the bear.