A hybrid creature combining dog and hyena characteristics; a rare historical or mythological term for a supposed canine-hyena cross.
From Greek 'kyon' (dog) and 'hyaina' (hyena), literally 'dog-hyena,' created as a descriptive compound for crossbreeds or chimeric creatures.
Before modern biology, people freely invented hybrid creature names for animals they didn't understand—cynhyena shows how many extinct words describe animals that may never have actually existed.
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