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Synonyms

fauna

American  
[faw-nuh] / ˈfɔ nə /

noun

plural

faunas, faunae

  1. the animals of a given region or period considered as a whole.

  2. a treatise on the animals of a given region or period.

  3. (initial capital letter) Bona Dea.

fauna British  
/ ˈfɔːnə /

noun

  1. all the animal life of a given place or time, esp when distinguished from the plant life (flora)

  2. a descriptive list of such animals

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
fauna Scientific  
/ fô′nə /

plural

faunas

  1. The animals of a particular region or time period.

fauna Cultural  

  1. Animals, especially the animals of a particular place and time.

Other Word Forms

  • faunal adjective
  • faunally adverb

Etymology

Origin of fauna

1765–75; < New Latin, special use of Latin Fauna, a feminine counterpart to Faunus; Flora

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.