vulpiform

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English

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vulpiform Moche ceramic vessel

Etymology

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From vulp +‎ -iform.

Adjective

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vulpiform (comparative more vulpiform, superlative most vulpiform)

  1. Having the shape of a fox.
    • 1858 May 15, Spirit of the Times ; A Chronicle of the Turn, Agriculture, Field Sports, and the Stage, volume 28, number 14, page 161:
      The flying fox (vespertillo vulpicephalus) [] The facial features of this animal are vulpiform, and ferocity is signified by the punishment which it inflicts with its dental armory (for the teeth of this extraordinary-formed creature are of the canine character).
    • 1992 December 30, Clive Grace's profile photo Clive Grace, alt.callahans[1] (Usenet):
      He's a reddish human sized fox (vulpiform), on hind feet, bushy tail -- he wears a grey trenchcoat and a brown satchel is strapped around his shoulder []
    • 2004, Michael Bathgate, The Fox's Craft in Japanese Religion and Culture: Shapeshifters, Transformations and Duplicities[2], page 476:
      [] is Inari the spirit of rice (as suggested in the earliest records of Inari as ujigami of the Hata clan), or is it a wish-fulfilling vulpiform divinity, comparable to the Buddhist-style Kiko tennō venerated by Taira no Kiyomori in his rise to political power?