margay

[mahr-gey]

noun

a small tiger cat, Felis tigrina, of tropical America: now rare.

Origin of margay

1775–85; < French (Buffon), alteration of margaia < Portuguese maracajá < Tupi marakaya

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for margay

Historical Examples of margay

We may see the ocelot skulking through the deep shade, or the margay springing upon its winged prey.
The Forest Exiles
Mayne Reid
Fritz presented us each with a neat case of margay skin to hang at our girdles.
The Swiss Family Robinson
Johann David Wyss
I should say this was a margay, and it would have proved a cruel foe, not only of our poultry, but also of our sheep and goats.
The Swiss Family Robinson
Johann David Wyss
The animal called the margay is really a kind of small ocelot, and it is sometimes known as the tiger-cat.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History
Theodore Wood
Fritz was engaged in preparing the skin of the margay, with more care than Jack had shown with that of the jackal.
The Swiss Family Robinson; or Adventures in a Desert Island
Johann David Wyss

British Dictionary definitions for margay

margay

noun

a feline mammal, Felis wiedi, of Central and South America, having a dark-striped coat

Word Origin for margay

C18: from French, from Tupi mbaracaiá

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