Tiger Meaning
/ˈtaɪɡə/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounPanthera tigris, a large predatory mammal of the cat family, indigenous to Asia.
nounPanthera tigris, a large predatory mammal of the cat family, indigenous to Asia., A male tiger; as opposed to a tigress.
Sentence Examples
The lion and the tiger are two different species of cat.
Take steady aim at the tiger.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ has orange fur with black stripes and is endangered.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The majestic ____ was spotted prowling through the thick jungle in search of its next prey this afternoon today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English tygre, in part from Old English tigras (pl.), in part from Anglo-Norman tigre, both from Latin tigris, from Ancient Greek τίγρις (tígris), from Iranian (compare Avestan 𐬙𐬌𐬔𐬭𐬌 (tigri, “arrow”), 𐬙𐬌𐬖𐬭𐬀 (tiγra, “pointed”)). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”). Compare English stick.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe Champions broke on them, that forſt the fly, / Like ſcattered Sheepe, whenas the Shepherds ſwaine / A Lyon and a Tigre doth eſpye, / With greedy pace forth ruſhing from the foreſt nye."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 14, page 311:
"What you mean is that no scientist has captured one and been able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it exists, which is probably very good news for the tiger."
— 2010, Barry Jonsberg, Blacky Blasts Back: On the Tail of the Tassie Tiger, Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin, page 43:
"Similar is the test among the Moxos of Peru. One of their totems is the tiger; and a candidate for the rank of medicine-man must prove his kinship to the tiger by being bitten by that animal and surviving the bite."
— 1887, James George Frazer, Totemism, page 20:
"The heraldic tiger is a mythical beast, quite unlike a real tiger which is described in heraldry as a Bengal tiger. The ordinary tiger has no stripes, has a horn protruding from its nose, has tusks like a boar and a tufted mane, and has a lion's tail instead of a tiger's."
— 1968, Charles MacKinnon of Dunakin, The Observer's Book of Heraldry, page 69:
"Jim remarked irrelevantly that tigers were 'schelms' and it was his conviction that there were a great many in the kloofs round about."
— 1907, Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, Jock of the Bushveld, Longmans, published 1976, →ISBN, page 251:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ has orange fur with black stripes and is endangered.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The majestic ____ was spotted prowling through the thick jungle in search of its next prey this afternoon today.