meerkat

meer·kat

M5206600 (mîr′kăt′)n. A small burrowing mongoose (Suricata suricatta) of southern Africa, having brownish-gray fur and a long tail, which it uses for balance when it stands on its hind legs. Also called suricate.

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[Afrikaans, from Middle Dutch meercatte, monkey, perhaps a compound of meer, sea (because monkeys came to Europe from overseas); see mori- in Indo-European roots + catte, cat (from Germanic *kattuz); see cat, or perhaps a folk-etymological alteration of an Indic word akin to Marathi mākaḍ, monkey (from Middle Indic makkaṭa-, from Sanskrit markaṭaḥ, perhaps of Dravidian origin and akin to Kannada maṅga).]

meerkat

(ˈmɪəˌkæt) n (Animals) any of several South African mongooses, esp Suricata suricatta (slender-tailed meerkat or suricate), which has a lemur-like face and four-toed feet[C19: from Dutch: sea-cat]

su•ri•cate

(ˈsʊər ɪˌkeɪt)

n. a small burrowing South African colonial viverrid, Suricata suricatta, related to the mongooses. Also called meerkat. [1775–85; earlier surikate < French < Dutch surikat macaque]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

meerkat - a mongoose-like viverrine of South Africa having a face like a lemur and only four toesmierkatviverrine, viverrine mammal - small cat-like predatory mammals of warmer parts of the Old Worldgenus Suricata, Suricata - meerkatsslender-tailed meerkat, Suricata suricatta - a meerkat with a thin and elongated tailSuricata tetradactyla, suricate - burrowing diurnal meerkat of southern Africa; often kept as a pet

Translations

suricate