Added 9 October 2026
fauna
/ˈfɔːnə/ noun
Latin root: fauna Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fauna at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Animals considered as a group; especially those of a particular country, region, time, biological group, etc. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
the flora and fauna
- A particular group of animals as distinguished from another.
- A book cataloguing the animals of a country.
Origin
Borrowed from New Latin fauna, from Latin Fauna, sister of Faunus (“god of forests and herdsmen”); akin to Ancient Greek θαῦνον (thaûnon, “wild animal, beast”), θώς (thṓs, “jackal, wild dog; panther”), Phrygian δάος (dáos, “wolf”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)