| any of various small to medium-sized, chiefly arboreal cats of the civet family, of southeastern Asia, the East Indies, etc., with a spotted or striped coat and a long curled tail. |
| palm civet n. Any of various large nocturnal, arboreal civets of the subfamily Paradoxurinae of southern Asia and tropical Africa, especially the common Asian species Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, having spotted fur and a long tail. |