civet cat

noun

1

: civet sense 1

2

: ringtail sense 2

3

: any of several small spotted skunks (genus Spilogale) of western North America

Examples of civet cat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the case of this virus, the civet cat was an unwitting intermediate host of a viral spillover from bats that made the transition to humans. — Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2011

It is thought to have originated in an animal population, perhaps bats, before being passed to civet cats—a tropical animal that looks like a mix of a dog and an ocelot—then to people. — Byerin Prater, Fortune Well, 10 Nov. 2023

Scientists believe the virus may have originated in bats and was transmitted to another mammal such as a civet cat or an armadillo-like pangolin before being passed on to people. — NBC News, 10 July 2020

Although the origin of the virus is thought to be from a wild animal, either directly from a bat or though an intermediate host like a civet cat or a raccoon dog, domesticated and zoo animals haven’t been implicated in the virus’s spread. — Michelle Fay Cortez, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2021

These wet markets facilitated the emergence of SARS-CoV-1 in bats, civet cats, and humans in 2002 and, some speculate, the novel coronavirus in 2019. — Sonia Shah, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for civet cat

• acrobat
• autocrat
• automat
• bundesrat
• bureaucrat
• butterfat
• caveat
• chemostat
• copycat
• cryostat
• democrat
• diplomat

Kids Definition

civet cat

noun

: a long-bodied short-legged African mammal that is related to the mongooses and produces civet

Medical Definition

civet cat

noun

: any of several carnivorous mammals (family Viverridae)

especially : a long-bodied short-legged African animal (Civettictis civetta) that produces most of the civet of commerce