See Also: meerkat(medicine)
meerkat(dictionary)
meerkat(encyclopedia)

meerkat (iou)



meerkat noun. L15.
[Dutch from Middle Low German meerkatte (Old High German merikazza, German Meerkatze) lit. 'sea-cat', perh. orig. alt. of an oriental name: cf. Hindi marka, Sanskrit markaa ape.]
A monkey. L15-M16.
Any of several mongooses of southern Africa, esp. the suricate or grey meerkat (see below). Orig. S. Afr. E19.
grey meerkat (a) a gregarious diurnal mongoose, Suricata suricatta, sometimes kept as a pet (also called suricate, zenick); (b) a solitary nocturnal mongoose, Paracynictis selousi. red meerkat a diurnal mongoose, Cynictis penicillata, with a tan coat. slender-tailed meerkat = grey meerkat (a) above.