French

Adjective

fauve m, f ‎(plural fauves)

1. tawny
2. (rare, archaic) savage, fierce (having the ferocity of a wild animal) [19th c.]
3. (rare, by extension) dangerous, wild [from mid-19th c.]
4. (art) fauvist [from early 20th c.]

Noun

fauve m ‎(plural fauves)

1. (dated) tawny-coloured animal [from late 16th c.]
2. (by extension) a big cat, such as a lion or lynx
   • 1943, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince, Chapter I:

     Lorsque j’avais six ans j’ai vu, une fois, une magnifique image, dans un livre sur la forêt vierge qui s’appelait Histoires vécues. Ça représentait un serpent boa qui avalait un fauve.

     When I was six years old, I once saw a magnificent picture, in a book on the virgin forest called True Stories. It was of a boa that was swallowing a large cat.

3. (by extension) beast, wild animal, especially fierce, aggressive, or predatory
4. (figuratively) a violent or aggressive man or woman
5. a brownish orange color, tawny [from mid-19th c.]
6. (polytechnic jargon, obsolete) examiner

Old French

Adjective

fauve m ‎(oblique and nominative feminine singular fauve)

1. brownish