# hyena

> English word · Noun · IPA /haɪˈiːnə/ · frequency rank #37,035

## Definitions
1. Any of the medium-sized to large feliform carnivores of the family Hyaenidae, native to Africa and Asia and noted for the sound similar to laughter which they can make if excited.
2. A man that performs ritualized sex acts with recently widowed women and menarchal girls.

## Etymology
From Middle English hiena, variant of hyene, from Old French hiene, from Medieval Latin hyēna, from Latin hyaena, from Ancient Greek ὕαινα (húaina). Displaced native Old English nihtgenġe (literally “night walker”).

## Easily confused with
- **hymn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hyena-vs-hymn)
- **Hyun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hyena-vs-hyun)
- **hyung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hyena-vs-hyung)
- **hymen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hyena-vs-hymen)
- **hen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hyena)
- **hye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hye-vs-hyena)
- **hea** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hea-vs-hyena)
- **Hana** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hana-vs-hyena)
- **Hera** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hera-vs-hyena)
- **Hanna** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hanna-vs-hyena)
- **hydra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hydra-vs-hyena)
- **henna** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/henna-vs-hyena)
- **Henan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/henan-vs-hyena)
- **Helena** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/helena-vs-hyena)

## Common misspellings (7)
`heyna`, `hhyena`, `hyean`, `hyenna`, `hynea`, `hyyena`, `yhena`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hyena