Volpe
/ˈvɔl.pe/noun
An Italian word meaning “fox.”
Did you know?Italian volpe comes from Latin vulpēs, and that same ancient fox-root survives in other Romance forms tied to the animal long associated with slyness and trickery.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wĺ̥kʷos?
“An uncertain reconstructed ancestral root sometimes compared in discussions of fox/wolf vocabulary, but not securely established for this word.”
Latin
Latin
vulpēs
“Fox”
Late Latin
Latin
volpe
“Fox”
Old Italian
Italian
volpe
“Fox”
Modern English
English
volpine
“Foxlike; cunning or sly”