meerkat
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom 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
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɪəkat/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɪəɹkæt/
Audio (UK): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)kæt
Noun
editmeerkat (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
editTranslations
edit
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References
edit- ^ “meerkat”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
edit- meerkat on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Suricata suricatta on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
Anagrams
editAfrikaans
editEtymology
editFrom Dutch meerkat (“guenon”), from Middle Dutch meercatte.
Pronunciation
editAudio: (file)
Noun
editmeerkat (plural meerkatte or meerkaaie)
Descendants
editDutch
editEtymology
editFrom Middle Dutch meercatte (“monkey, ape”), from Old Dutch *merikatta. Equivalent to meer + kat. Cognate with Old High German merikazza (German Meerkatze).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editmeerkat 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.
- 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.
Descendants
edit- 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 pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)kæt
- Rhymes:English/ɪə(ɹ)kæt/2 syllables
- 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 terms with audio pronunciation
- 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 pronunciation
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch feminine nouns
- Dutch terms with quotations
- nl:Primates