A fox is an animal belonging to any one of about 27 species (of which only 12 actually belong to theVulpes genus, or ‘true foxes’) of small to medium-sized canids, characterized by possessing a long, narrow snout, and a bushy tail, or brush. By far the most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), although various species are found on almost every continent. The presence of fox-like carnivores all over the globe has led to their appearance in the popular cultureand folklore of many nations, tribes, and other cultural groups (see Foxes in culture).

The Modern English “fox” is Old English, and comes from the Proto-Germanic word fukh – compareGerman Fuchs, Gothic fauho, Old Norse foa and Dutch vos. It corresponds to the Proto-Indo-Europeanword puk- meaning “tail” (compare Sanskrit puccha, also “tail”). The bushy tail is also the source of the word for fox in Welsh: llwynog, from llwyn, “bush, grove” ^[1]. Lithuanian: uodegis, from uodega, “tail”, and Portuguese: raposa, from rabo, “tail”. ^[2]