civet
Any of the small carnivorous catlike mammals encompassing certain species from the…Any of the small carnivorous catlike mammals encompassing certain species from the families Viverridae, Eupleridae, and Nandiniidae, native to tropical Africa and Asia.
» Have you heard of civet cat coffee? It's a coffee that's made out of cat poo.
Meaning
4 senses(countable, uncountable)Any of the small carnivorous catlike mammals encompassing certain species from the families Viverridae, Eupleridae, and Nandiniidae, native to tropical Africa and Asia.
(uncountable)The musky perfume produced by the animal; civetone.
Zibet
цибети́нcibetín
(US, countable, regional, uncountable)A spotted skunk.
Zibetkatze
виве́рраvivérra, циве́ттаcivétta
(US, countable, regional, uncountable)A ringtail (Bassariscus astutus).
- cat-like mammal typically secreting musk used in perfumes
Examples
3 sentencesHave you heard of civet cat coffee? It's a coffee that's made out of cat poo.
Genetic evidence shows COVID probably did not come directly from a bat, but from a civet.
Coronavirus transmission was believed to have occurred from bats to civets and pangolins, whose scales are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
From French civette, from Italian zibetto, from Medieval Latin zibethum, from Arabic زَبَاFrom French civette, from Italian zibetto, from Medieval Latin zibethum, from Arabic زَبَاد (zabād).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: civetsSynonyms
1 synonymsWord family
12 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable