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# jackal

noun (a jackal, jackals)

«jackal» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A jackal is a wild animal like a small, thin dog that lives in Africa and Asia and eats small animals and leftovers from other hunters. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#m1)
2. (informal) A jackal can mean a sneaky person who takes advantage of others' work or misfortune. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#m2)

### In the lessons

In nature lessons, jackals are hunters and scavengers that help clean up the savanna; they often live in pairs for life. In history lessons on Ancient Egypt, the god Anubis has a jackal's head. In stories and fables, the jackal is often a sly trickster.

### Examples

- A jackal crept towards the leftover meat. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#x1)
- Jackals howl at night on the savanna. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#x2)
- Anubis, the Egyptian god, had a jackal's head. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#x3)
- The jackal is a cousin of the dog and the wolf. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#x4)
- In the fable, the clever jackal tricks the lion. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#x5)
- Jackals live in pairs and raise their pups together. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#x6)
- We heard jackals calling in the dark. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/#x7)

### Note

Countable: jackals. Pronounced «JACK-ul». A jackal is not a hyena, though both scavenge; hyenas are a different family.

## In Jewish tradition

The jackal lived in wild, empty places and ruins, so it often stands for desolation.

**Interpretation.** The prophets use jackals to describe cities that have been destroyed, such as Babylon, and tradition reads this as a warning that sin leads to ruin.

### Examples

- I am become a brother to jackals, and a companion to ostriches. (Writings JOB.30.29, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/J/jackal/#x1)
- And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant. (Prophets JER.51.37, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/J/jackal/#x2)
- Though Thou hast crushed us into a place of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death. (Writings PSA.44.20, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/J/jackal/#x3)

### Note

Countable: jackals. Pronounced «JACK-ul». A jackal is not a hyena, though both scavenge; hyenas are a different family.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «jackal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jackal/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«jackal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/jackal.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «jackal» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/J/jackal/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«jackal» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/jackal.html) on Mova free.