civet
See also: civět
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From French civette, from Italian zibetto, from Medieval Latin zibethum, from Arabic زَبَاد (zabād).
Pronunciation
Noun
civet (countable and uncountable, plural civets)
- (countable) A carnivorous catlike animal, Lua error in Module:parameters at line 797: Parameter "noshow" is not used by this template., that produces a musky secretion. It is two to three feet long, with black bands and spots on the body and tail.
- (uncountable) The musky perfume produced by the animal.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 3 Scene 2
- LEONATO. Indeed he looks younger than he did, by the loss of a beard.
- DON PEDRO. Nay, a' rubs himself with civet: can you smell him out by that?
- CLAUDIO. That's as much as to say the sweet youth's in love.
- 1607, [attributed to Thomas Tomkis], Lingva: Or The Combat of the Tongue, and the Five Senses for Superiority. A Pleasant Comœdie., London: Printed by G[eorge] Eld, for Simon Waterson, →OCLC, Act IV, scene iii:
- Your onely way to make a good pomander, is this. Take an ownce of the pureſt garden mould, clenſed and ſteeped ſeauen daies in change of motherleſſe roſe water, then take the beſt Labdanum, Benioine, both Storaxes, amber greece, and Ciuet, and muſke, incorporate them together, and work them into what form you pleaſe; this, if your breath bee not to valiant, will make you ſmell as ſweete as my Ladies dogge.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 3 Scene 2
- Any animal in the family Viverridae or the similar family Lua error in Module:parameters at line 797: Parameter "noshow" is not used by this template.
- (countable, US) Any of several species of spotted skunk, in the genus Spilogale.
Derived terms
Translations
cat-like animal
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perfume
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Anagrams
Dalmatian
Etymology
Compare Italian civetta, Romansch tschuetta, French chouette.
Noun
civet m
- owl
- burrowing owl
French
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
civet m (plural civets)
- (cuisine) ragout of hare, rabbit or wild mammal, with red wine and onions, bound with the animal’s blood.
Further reading
- “civet”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Categories:
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Italian
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Arabic
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- American English
- en:Mephitids
- en:Viverrids
- Dalmatian lemmas
- Dalmatian nouns
- Dalmatian masculine nouns
- French terms suffixed with -et
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns