Word.ws English Dictionary

caprine

/ˈkæpˌɹaɪn/

caprine adjective: of or relating to Caprinae (goats, sheep, and certain wild relatives). Also the alternative form of caprin.

Adjective

caprine (comparative more caprine, superlative most caprine)

  1. Of or relating to Caprinae (goats, sheep, and certain wild relatives).
    Synonyms:
    caprid
    1. (often, specifically) Of or relating to Capra (goats).
  2. Goatlike: goatish; goaty.

Noun

caprine (plural caprines)

  1. A caprid: a (domestic or wild) goat or sheep: any member of the tribe Caprini (corresponding to the archaic taxon Capridae).
    • By the late Holocene, most archaeological sites in the central Rift Valley display a significant pastoralist occupation and are dominated by cattle and caprines, while others preserve an abundant wild grassland fauna with substantial numbers of cattle and caprines (Gifford, Isaac, and Nelson 1980).2008, Charles R. Peters, et al., 3: Paleoecology of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem, A. R. E. Sinclair, Craig Packer, Simon A. R. Mduma, John M. Fryxell (editors, Serengeti III: Human Impacts on...
    • For instance, the graph of the Early Bronze Age sites shows that the relative frequency of caprines in regions 1, 2, and 3 does not differ significantly.2010, Aharon Sasson, Animal Husbandry in Ancient Israel: A Zooarchaeological Perspective on Livestock Exploitation, Herd Management and Economic Strategies, page 47
    1. (often, specifically) A (domestic or wild) goat: any of certain caprids, the ones in the genus Capra.

Also used as

caprine is also the alternative form of caprin.

Synonyms of caprine

Forms of caprine

Adjective
comparativemore caprine
superlativemost caprine
alternative formcaprinic
Noun
pluralcaprines

Origin of caprine

Borrowed from Latin caprīnus. The taxonomic sense is a semantic loan from translingual Caprinae.

Questions about caprine

What does caprine mean?
Caprine means of or relating to Caprinae (goats, sheep, and certain wild relatives).
What part of speech is caprine?
Caprine can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce caprine?
Caprine is pronounced /ˈkæpˌɹaɪn/.

Words near caprine in the dictionary

  1. caprimulgids
  2. caprimulgiform
  3. caprimulgiforms
  4. caprin
  5. caprinaldehyde
  6. caprine
  7. caprines
  8. caprinic
  9. caprinid
  10. caprinids
  11. Caprio

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: caprine (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “caprine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/caprine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.