polecat

English

A marbled polecat (weasel-like animal).

Etymology

From Middle French pole (“hen”) + cat. So named because of its fondness for poultry.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpəʊlkæt/

Noun

polecat (plural polecats)

  1. A weasel-like animal of the genus Mustela.
    1. notably, the European polecat, Mustela putorius.
    • 1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, Duckworth, hardback edition, page 61
      By the little garden pergola open to the winds some fluttered peacocks were blotted nervelessly amid the dripping trees, their heads sunk back beneath their wings: while in the pergola itself, like a fallen storm-cloud, lolled a negress, her levelled, polecat eyes semi-veiled by the nebulous alchemy of the rainbow.
  2. (US, dialect) A skunk.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.