שועל

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
שׁ־ע־ל (sh-ʿ-l)

From Proto-Semitic *ṯaʕlab- (“fox”). Cognate with Akkadian 𒈜𒀀 (šēlebum) and Arabic ثَعْلَب (ṯaʕlab). Compare also Yemeni Arabic ثَعَلْ.

Noun

שׁוּעָל • (shuál) m (plural indefinite שׁוּעָלִים, singular construct שׁוּעַל־, plural construct שׁוּעֲלֵי־, feminine counterpart שׁוּעָלָה)

1. (zoology) fox (a red fox, small carnivore (Vulpes vulpes), related to dogs and wolves, with red or silver fur and a bushy tail)#*
   Tanach, Judges 15:4, with translation of Robert Alter:

   וַיֵּלֶךְ שִׁמְשׁוֹן וַיִּלְכֹּד שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת שׁוּעָלִים וַיִּקַּח לַפִּדִים וַיֶּפֶן זָנָב אֶל זָנָב וַיָּשֶׂם לַפִּיד אֶחָד בֵּין שְׁנֵי הַזְּנָבוֹת בַּתָּוֶךְ

   And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes and took torches and turned tail to tail and put one torch between each two tails.

Derived terms

• שבולת שועל / שִׁבֹּלֶת שׁוּעָל (shibólet shu'ál, “oat”)

References

• H7776 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• “שועל” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading

• שועל on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he