crocotta

English

A mosaic depicting a crocotta, which in this case closely resembles a striped hyena. The mosaic in Palestrina depicts the Nile and its fauna.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κροκόττας (krokóttas, “crocotta”, first attested in Strabo's Geographica), which may have been borrowed from Sanskrit.

Noun

crocotta (plural crocottas)

1. A mythical dog-wolf of India or Ethiopia, said to be a deadly enemy of men and dogs and able to imitate the voice of any animal or human.

Alternative forms

• corocotta
• crocuta

Synonyms

• yena

Translations

a mythical dog-wolf

• Latin: crocotta f
• Yiddish: קראָקאָטע (krokote)