civet

[ siv-it ]

/ ˈsɪv ɪt /

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noun

a yellowish, unctuous substance with a strong musklike odor, obtained from a pouch in the genital region of civets and used in perfumery.

any catlike, carnivorous mammal of the subfamily Viverrinae, chiefly of southern Asia and Africa, having a coarse-haired, spotted coat, rounded ears, and a narrow muzzle.

any of various related or similar animals, as the palm civet.

cacomistle.

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Origin of civet

1525–35; <Middle French civette<Catalan civetta ≪ Arabic zabād civet perfume; see zibet

OTHER WORDS FROM civet

civ·et·like, adjective

Words nearby civet

Ciudad Ojeda, Ciudad Real, Ciudad Trujillo, Ciudad Victoria, Civ., civet, civet cat, civic, civic center, civic centre, civic-minded

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use civet in a sentence

The SARS virus spread to people from civets infected with a bat coronavirus.
Here are answers to 3 persistent questions about the coronavirus’s origins|Erin Garcia de Jesús|May 27, 2021|Science News
In China, civets, live wolf pups and pangolins have often been kept in cramped and filthy conditions, allowing diseases to incubate and then spill into human populations.
COVID-19 Has Slashed Asia's Appetite for Wild Animals, a New Report Finds|Charlie Campbell / Shanghai|May 24, 2021|Time
That demonstrated a connection to food animals, which was quickly confirmed when a team from Hong Kong found an almost identical virus in civets held in market cages.
No one can find the animal that gave people covid-19|Antonio Regalado|March 26, 2021|MIT Technology Review
That genetic detective work revealed that civets most likely got the virus from bats and then passed it onto the people who handled civets.
We still don’t know for sure where the coronavirus came from. Here’s why|Erin Garcia de Jesus|March 18, 2021|Science News

In the wake of that outbreak, which claimed at least 774 lives worldwide, palm civets were banned from sale or consumption in China.
Inside the Global Quest to Trace the Origins of COVID-19—and Predict Where It Will Go Next|Alice Park|July 23, 2020|Time
Muske-catthe civet-cat; applied as a term of contempt to a fop, as being a person perfumed with musk.
The Fatal Dowry|Philip Massinger
The civet has nothing in common with the hyna but the glandular pouch, under the tail, and the mane along the neck and back-bone.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
THE generality of naturalists are of opinion that the perfume called civet, or musk, is furnished only by one species of animals.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
Certain it is, that most of the fables which have been related of the hyna, took their rise from the civet.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
The civet brought from Amsterdam is preferred to that which comes from the Levant or the Indies, as being the most genuine.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon

British Dictionary definitions for civet

civet

/ (ˈsɪvɪt) /

noun

any catlike viverrine mammal of the genus Viverra and related genera, of Africa and S Asia, typically having blotched or spotted fur and secreting a powerfully smelling fluid from anal glands

the yellowish fatty secretion of such an animal, used as a fixative in the manufacture of perfumes

the fur of such an animal

short for palm civet

Word Origin for civet

C16: from Old French civette, from Italian zibetto, from Arabic zabād civet perfume

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

civet

Origin of civet

OTHER WORDS FROM civet

Words nearby civet

Words related to civet

How to use civet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for civet

Word Origin for civet