Prai·rie n.
 1. An extensive tract of level or rolling land, destitute of trees, covered with coarse grass, and usually characterized by a deep, fertile soil. They abound throughout the Mississippi valley, between the Alleghanies and the Rocky mountains.
 From the forests and the prairies,
 From the great lakes of the northland.   --Longfellow.
 2. A meadow or tract of grass; especially, a so called natural meadow.
 Prairie chicken Zool., any American grouse of the genus Tympanuchus, especially Tympanuchus Americanus (formerly Tympanuchus cupido), which inhabits the prairies of the central United States. Applied also to the sharp-tailed grouse.
 Prairie clover Bot., any plant of the leguminous genus Petalostemon, having small rosy or white flowers in dense terminal heads or spikes. Several species occur in the prairies of the United States.
 Prairie dock Bot., a coarse composite plant (Silphium terebinthaceum) with large rough leaves and yellow flowers, found in the Western prairies.
 Prairie dog Zool., a small American rodent (Cynomys Ludovicianus) allied to the marmots. It inhabits the plains west of the Mississippi. The prairie dogs burrow in the ground in large warrens, and have a sharp bark like that of a dog. Called also prairie marmot.
 Prairie grouse. Same as Prairie chicken, above.
 Prairie hare Zool., a large long-eared Western hare (Lepus campestris). See Jack rabbit, under 2d Jack.
 Prairie hawk, Prairie falcon Zool., a falcon of Western North America (Falco Mexicanus). The upper parts are brown. The tail has transverse bands of white; the under parts, longitudinal streaks and spots of brown.
 Prairie hen. Zool. Same as Prairie chicken, above.
 Prairie itch Med., an affection of the skin attended with intense itching, which is observed in the Northern and Western United States; -- also called swamp itch, winter itch.
 Prairie marmot. Zool. Same as Prairie dog, above.
 Prairie mole Zool., a large American mole (Scalops argentatus), native of the Western prairies.
 Prairie pigeon, Prairie plover, or Prairie snipe Zool., the upland plover. See Plover, n., 2.
 Prairie rattlesnake Zool., the massasauga.
 Prairie snake Zool., a large harmless American snake (Masticophis flavigularis). It is pale yellow, tinged with brown above.
 Prairie squirrel Zool., any American ground squirrel of the genus Spermophilus, inhabiting prairies; -- called also gopher.
 Prairie turnip Bot., the edible turnip-shaped farinaceous root of a leguminous plant (Psoralea esculenta) of the Upper Missouri region; also, the plant itself. Called also pomme blanche, and pomme de prairie.
 Prairie warbler Zool., a bright-colored American warbler (Dendroica discolor). The back is olive yellow, with a group of reddish spots in the middle; the under parts and the parts around the eyes are bright yellow; the sides of the throat and spots along the sides, black; three outer tail feathers partly white.
 Prairie wolf. Zool. See Coyote.

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 Wolf n.; pl. Wolves
 1. Zool. Any one of several species of carnivorous mammal belonging to the genus Canis (family Canidae) and closely allied to the common dog.  The best-known and most destructive species are the European wolf (Canis lupus), the American gray, or timber, wolf (Canis occidentalis), and the prairie wolf, more commonly called coyote.  Wolves often hunt in packs, and may thus attack large animals and, rarely, even man.
 2. Zool. One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvae of several species of beetles and grain moths; as, the bee wolf.
 3. Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation; as, they toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door.
 4. A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries.
 5. An eating ulcer or sore.  Cf. Lupus.  [Obs.]
    If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side.   --Jer. Taylor.
 6. Mus. (a) The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament.  (b) In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale.
 7. Textile Manuf. A willying machine.
 Black wolf. Zool. (a) A black variety of the European wolf which is common in the Pyrenees. (b) A black variety of the American gray wolf.
 Golden wolf Zool., the Thibetan wolf (Canis laniger); -- called also chanco.
 Indian wolf Zool., an Asiatic wolf (Canis pallipes) which somewhat resembles a jackal. Called also landgak.
 Prairie wolf Zool., the coyote.
 Sea wolf. Zool. See in the Vocabulary.
 Strand wolf Zool. the striped hyena.
 Tasmanian wolf Zool., the zebra wolf.
 Tiger wolf Zool., the spotted hyena.
 To keep the wolf from the door, to keep away poverty; to prevent starvation.  See Wolf, 3, above. --Tennyson.
 Wolf dog. Zool. (a) The mastiff, or shepherd dog, of the Pyrenees, supposed by some authors to be one of the ancestors of the St. Bernard dog. (b) The Irish greyhound, supposed to have been used formerly by the Danes for chasing wolves. (c) A dog bred between a dog and a wolf, as the Eskimo dog.
 Wolf eel Zool., a wolf fish.
 Wolf fish Zool., any one of several species of large, voracious marine fishes of the genus Anarrhichas, especially the common species (Anarrhichas lupus) of Europe and North America. These fishes have large teeth and powerful jaws. Called also catfish, sea cat, sea wolf, stone biter, and swinefish.
 Wolf net, a kind of net used in fishing, which takes great numbers of fish.
 Wolf's peach Bot., the tomato, or love apple (Lycopersicum esculentum).
 Wolf spider Zool., any one of numerous species of running ground spiders belonging to the genus Lycosa, or family Lycosidae. These spiders run about rapidly in search of their prey. Most of them are plain brown or blackish in color.  See Illust. in App.
 Zebra wolf Zool., a savage carnivorous marsupial (Thylacinus cynocephalus) native of Tasmania; -- called also Tasmanian wolf.

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 Coy·o·te n.  Zool. A carnivorous animal (Canis latrans), allied to the dog, found in the western part of North America; -- called also prairie wolf. Its voice is a snapping bark, followed by a prolonged, shrill howl.

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 prairie wolf
      n : small wolf native to western North America [syn: coyote, {brush
          wolf, Canis latrans]