meerkat

meer·kat  (mîrkät)

n.

See suricate.

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[Afrikaans, from Middle Dutch meercatte, monkey : meer, sea (because monkeys came from overseas); see mori- in Indo-European roots + catte, cat (from Germanic *kattuz).]

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meerkat [ˈmɪəˌkæt]

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / 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

[from Dutch: sea-cat]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

meerkat - a mongoose-like viverrine of South Africa having a face like a lemur and only four toes mierkat viverrine, viverrine mammal - small cat-like predatory mammals of warmer parts of the Old World genus Suricata, Suricata - meerkats slender-tailed meerkat, Suricata suricatta - a meerkat with a thin and elongated tail Suricata tetradactyla, suricate - burrowing diurnal meerkat of southern Africa; often kept as a pet