Variant of jackal

noun pl. jackals or jackal
  1. any of several wild dogs of Asia and N Africa, mostly yellowish-gray and smaller than the wolf: they often hunt prey in packs, generally at night, and also eat carrion and certain plants
  2. a person who does dishonest or humiliating tasks for another: from the notion that the jackal hunts game for the lion and eats the leavings
  3. a cheat or swindler

Origin: Turk chaqāl from Persian shagāl from Sanskrit śrgālá

Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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