civet
a yellowish, unctuous substance with a strong musklike odor, obtained from a pouch in the genital region of civets and used in perfumery.
any catlike, carnivorous mammal of the subfamily Viverrinae, chiefly of southern Asia and Africa, having a coarse-haired, spotted coat, rounded ears, and a narrow muzzle.
any of various related or similar animals, as the palm civet.
Origin of civet
1Other words from civet
- civ·et·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use civet in a sentence
Bow traps are placed along the tracks of civets, ichneumons, and rodents, which snap and strangle them.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles MorrisThe civets are naturally wild, and even ferocious; and though tameable to a certain degree, they are never perfectly familiar.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10) | Georges Louis Leclerc de BuffonFirst of all, then, come the civets; and first among the civets is the fossa, which is found in Madagascar.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History | Theodore WoodIt has rudimentary pouches only, which do not yield the musky secretion of the civets.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon | Robert A. SterndaleCivets, bears, foxes, and small cats were being used extensively for furs and pangolins could be purchased in the medicine shops.
Camps and Trails in China | Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
British Dictionary definitions for civet
/ (ˈsɪvɪt) /
any catlike viverrine mammal of the genus Viverra and related genera, of Africa and S Asia, typically having blotched or spotted fur and secreting a powerfully smelling fluid from anal glands
the yellowish fatty secretion of such an animal, used as a fixative in the manufacture of perfumes
the fur of such an animal
short for palm civet
Origin of civet
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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