noun / verb
tail
TAYL/teɪl/
An appendage trailing from an animal's rear.
The fox's bushy tail sweeps behind its body.
Etymology
Old English tægel already named an animal’s rear extremity. An earlier sense may have been “hairy tail” or “tuft of hair,” but Old English also applied it to hairless appendages.
In context
its habit of tucking its tail in its mouth and rolling at incredible speed in pursuit of its prey
More examples
- Our dog wags his tail when we come home.
- The cat uses its tail for balance on the narrow fence.
- Some lizards can shed their tails to escape predators.
Forms
tail · tails · tailed · tailing
tailless adjective — Having no tail on the body.
Similar words
- appendage
- Names a projecting body part, not necessarily at the rear.