Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - animal

 I. noun  Etymology: Latin, from ~e, neuter of ~is animate, from anima soul — more at animate  Date: 14th century  1. any of a kingdom (Animalia) of living things including many-celled organisms and often many of the single-celled ones (as protozoans) that typically differ from plants in having cells without cellulose walls, in lacking chlorophyll and the capacity for photosynthesis, in requiring more complex food materials (as proteins), in being organized to a greater degree of complexity, and in having the capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor responses to stimulation  2.  a. one of the lower ~s as distinguished from human beings  b. mammal; broadly vertebrate  3. a human being considered chiefly as physical or nonrational; also this nature  4. a person with a particular interest or aptitude a political ~  5. matter, thing the theater…is an entirely different ~ — Arthur Miller; also creature 1c  • ~like adjective  II. adjective  Date: 1615  1. of, relating to, resembling, or derived from ~s  2.  a. of or relating to the physical or sentient as contrasted with the intellectual or rational  b. sensual, fleshly  3. of or relating to the ~ pole of an egg or to the part from which ectoderm normally develops  Synonyms: see carnal  • ~ly adverb