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Which Words Did English Take From Other Languages?English—is one of the most incredible, flavorfully-complex melting pots of linguistic ingredients from other countries. These linguistic ingredients are called loanwords that have been borrowed and incorporated into English. The loanwords are oftentimes so common now, the foreign flavor has been completely lost.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for meerkat
British Dictionary definitions for meerkat
meerkat
/ (ˈmɪəˌkæt) /
noun
any of several South African mongooses, esp Suricata suricatta (slender-tailed meerkat or suricate), which has a lemur-like face and four-toed feet
Word Origin for meerkat
C19: from Dutch: sea-cat
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for meerkat
meerkat
late 15c., "monkey," from Dutch meerkat "monkey" (related to Old High German mericazza), apparently from meer "lake" + kat "cat." But cf. Hindi markat, Sanskrit markata "ape," which might serve as a source of a Teutonic folk-etymology, even though the word was in Germanic before any known direct contact with India. First applied to the small South African mammals in 1801.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper