Animals Meeting

Wildlife encounters are often more common in the summertime. Whether you’re on a trip to the local zoo, visiting an aquarium in a new city, or heading outside for a hike or day at the beach, you’re likely to encounter insects and animals who are enjoying the great outdoors as much as you do. For word lovers and parents of school-aged kids alike, these chance encounters can be a great opportunity to learn and practice some cool new animal vocabulary!

You’re probably already familiar with some of the more “fancy” names for our animal friends. We’re talking about words like canine, feline, equine, or bovine—Latinate terms for dogs, cats, horses, and cows. In these words, the name for each animal is paired with the Latin suffix -ine, meaning “of or pertaining to; of the nature of; made of; like.”

There are many more cool examples of this type of word formation that may surprise and delight you, including some with an interesting metaphorical meaning as well.