Something Like or Pertaining to a Bandicoot

The previous post, which deals with naming issues plaguing the swine flu, motivated me to locate as many possible animal-related -ine words that refer to animals. It may not surprise you that the list was bigger than I anticipated:

• canine (of, like or pertaining to dogs)
• feline (of, like or pertaining to cats)
• bovine (of, like or pertaining to cattle)
• taurine (of, like or pertaining to bulls)
• equine (of, like or pertaining to horses)
• elephantine (of, like or pertaining to elephants)
• serpentine (of, like or pertaining to snakes)
• lemurine (of, like or pertaining to lemurs)
• porcine (of, like or pertaining to pigs)
• piscine (of, like or pertaining to fish)
• ursine (of, like or pertaining to bears)
• vulpine (of, like or pertaining to foxes)
• lupine (of, like or pertaining to wolves)
• aquiline (of, like or pertaining to eagles)
• butine (of, like or pertaining to hawks)
• columbine (of, like or pertaining to doves)
• asinine (of, like or pertaining to donkeys)
• ovine (of, like or pertaining to sheep)
• caprine (of, like or pertaining to goats or ibexes)
• hircine (of, like or pertaining to goats)
• leonine (of, like or pertaining to lions)
• tigrine (of, like or pertaining to tigers)
• vespertilionine (of, like or pertaining to bats)
• ranine (of, like or pertaining to frogs)
• acrine (of, like or pertaining to frogs)
• lacertine (of, like or pertaining to lizards)
• terrapine (of, like or pertaining to turtles)
• geochine (of, like or pertaining to tortoises)
• cervine (of, like or pertaining to deer)
• rusine (of, like or pertaining to deer, but the Indian sambur deer in particular)
• elaphine (of, like or pertaining to stags or red deer
• elapine (of, like or pertaining to cobras)
• strigine (of, like or pertaining to owls)
• cancrine (of, like or pertaining to crabs)
• turdine (of, like or pertaining to thrush)
• icterine (of, like or pertaining to bobolinks)
• delphine (of, like or pertaining to dolphins)
• orcine (of, like or pertaining to killer whales)
• corvine (of, like or pertaining to crows or ravens)
• leporine (of, like or pertaining to rabbits or hares)
• murine (of, like or pertaining to mice or rats)
• anatine (of, like or pertaining to ducks)
• anserine (of, like or pertaining to geese)
• picine (of, like or pertaining to woodpeckers)
• pavonine (of, like or pertaining to peacocks)
• sciurine (of, like or pertaining to squirrels)
• alopine (of, like or pertaining to arctic foxes)
• musteline (of, like or pertaining to weasels)
• latrine (of, like or pertaining to otters)
• martine (of, like or pertaining to sables)
• phocine (of, like or pertaining to seals)
• myrmecophagine (of, like or pertaining to anteaters)
• lyncine (of, like or pertaining to wildcats)
• dasypine (of, like or pertaining to armadillos)
• soricine (of, like or pertaining to shrews)
• bubaline (of, like or pertaining to water buffalos)
• bosine (of, like or pertaining to yaks)
• helodine (of, like or pertaining to gila monsters)
• castorine (of, like or pertaining to beavers)
• larine (of, like or pertaining to seagulls)
• cavine (of, like or pertaining to guinea pigs)
• procyonine (of, like or pertaining to raccoons)
• meline (of, like or pertaining to badgers)
• musteline (of, like or pertaining to badgers)
• hystricine (of, like or pertaining to porcupines)
• macropodine (of, like or pertaining to kangaroos)
• aegypine (of, like or pertaining to vultures)
• pongine (of, like or pertaining to orangutans)
• alaudine (of, like or pertaining to skylarks)
• actinine (of, like or pertaining to sandpipers)
• varanine (of, like or pertaining to monitor lizards)
• gruine (of, like or pertaining to cranes)
• crotaline (of, like or pertaining to rattlesnakes)
• sarcophine (of, like or pertaining to Tasmanian devils)
• viverrine (of, like or pertaining to civets)
• passerine (of, like or pertaining to songbirds)
• oscine (of, like or pertaining to songbirds)
• aedine (of, like or pertaining to mosquitoes)
• psittacine (of, like or pertaining to parakeets)
• herpestine (of, like or pertaining to meerkats)
• cricetine (of, like or pertaining to hamsters)
• rhombomine (of, like or pertaining to gerbils)
• glirine (of, like or pertaining to dormice)
• acarine (of, like or pertaining to mites)
• herpestine (of, like or pertaining to mongooses)
• kobine (of, like or pertaining to waterbucks)
• acipenserine (of, like or pertaining to sturgeons)
• zebrine ((of, like or pertaining to zebras)
• isodine (of, like or pertaining to bandicoots)

I’m honestly not sure how many of these get used with any regularity and just exist after having been formed by extension from the animal name’s Latin root. It doesn’t matter to me either way. My take: Once we beat swine flu, think how many other flus we can get.

Sources: this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one, the last of which actually offered far more animal words than I could bear to transcribe.

Speaking of animals:

• Terms for neutered male animals
• Animal names used as verbs
• The Back of the Cereal box post tag “weird animals”