hircine

The story

1. Latin · derived fromhircīnus“of a goat”, “goat-scented”
2. Middle English · inherited fromhircyne
3. English todayhircine

First attested in its present form in 1650–1660: From Middle English hircyne, from Latin hircīnus (“of a goat”, “goat-scented”); equivalent to hircus (“a male goat”) + -īnus (“-ine”). Cognate with French hircin. By surface analysis, hirc- (“buck, male goat”) + -ine. Compare caprine, haedine.

Words from the same roots