serval

(sʉr′vəl)

an African wildcat (Leptailurus serval) with a black-spotted, tawny coat, long legs, and no ear tufts

Origin: Fr < Port (lobo) cerval < L (lupus) cervarius, lynx, lit., deer wolf: see wolf & cervine

See serval in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A long-legged wildcat (Felis serval) of Africa, having a tawny coat with black spots and large erect ears without tufts.

Origin:

Origin: French

Origin: , from Portuguese (lobo) cerval, deerlike (wolf), lynx

Origin: , from Late Latin cervālis

Origin: , from Latin cervus, deer; see ker-¹ in Indo-European roots

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