meerkat
English
Etymology
From Afrikaans meerkat, transferred use of Dutch meerkat (“guenon [monkey]”), from Middle Dutch meercatte (literally “sea cat”), compare English mercat. Sometimes suggested to be influenced by or derived from an Indian source; compare Hindi मर्कट (markaṭ, “ape, monkey”) and Sanskrit मर्कट (markaṭa).[1] Note however Old High German merikazza, so any influence from Indo-Aryan would have to be exceptionally early.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 333: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈmɪəkat/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 333: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈmɪəɹkæt/
Audio (UK): (file)
Noun
meerkat (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.
- Synonym: suricate
Descendants
Translations
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Further reading
- meerkat on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Suricata suricatta on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
References
- ^ “meerkat”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch meerkat (“guenon”), from Middle Dutch meercatte.
Noun
meerkat (plural meerkatte or meerkaaie)
Descendants
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch meercatte (“monkey, ape”), from Old Dutch *merikatta. Equivalent to meer + kat. Cognate with Old High German merikazza (German Meerkatze).
Pronunciation
Noun
meerkat f (plural meerkatten, diminutive meerkatje n)
- A guenon, vervet, talapoin or patas; one of a number of monkeys of the genus Cercopithecus, or of the tribe Cercopithecini.
- 2013, Bas Vlugt, Namibië, Botswana en Zimbabwe.
- De groene meerkat of vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) is de meest voorkomende aap in zuidelijk Afrika.
- The African green monkey or vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) is the most common monkey in southern Africa.
- De groene meerkat of vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) is de meest voorkomende aap in zuidelijk Afrika.
- 2016, Sterre Leufkens, Taal, in Elementaire deeltjes, vol. 40, Amsterdam University Press (publ.), page 32.
- Het bijzondere aan meerkatten is dat ze hun waarschuwingssignalen betekenisvol kunnen combineren met andere woordjes.
- The special thing about guenons is that they can meaningfully combine their warning signals with other short words.
- 2013, Bas Vlugt, Namibië, Botswana en Zimbabwe.
Descendants
- English terms borrowed from Afrikaans
- English terms derived from Afrikaans
- English terms derived from Dutch
- English terms derived from Middle Dutch
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Herpestids
- Afrikaans terms inherited from Dutch
- Afrikaans terms derived from Dutch
- Afrikaans terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Afrikaans lemmas
- Afrikaans nouns
- af:Herpestids
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch compound terms
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch feminine nouns
- Dutch terms with quotations
- nl:Primates