any of various mongooses of SW Africa, esp. a small, grayish one (Suricata suricatta) that lives in colonies underground
Origin of meerkat
Afrikaans from Du, name of type of monkey, literally , sea catmeerkat
meer·katWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"meerkat." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/meerkat>.
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meerkat. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/meerkat
meerkat
noun
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 .
Origin of meerkat
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 māka&dlowdot; monkey ( from Middle Indic makka&tlowdot;a- ) ( from Sanskrit marka&tlowdot;ah ) ( perhaps of Dravidian origin and akin to Kannada manga )THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"meerkat." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/meerkat>.
APA Style
meerkat. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/meerkat
Noun
(plural meerkats)
- Suricata suricatta, a small carnivorous mammal of the mongoose family, from the Kalahari Desert, known for its habit of standing on its hind legs.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"meerkat." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/meerkat>.
APA Style
meerkat. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/meerkat
