palm civet

American  

noun

1. any of various small to medium-sized, chiefly arboreal cats of the civet family, of southeastern Asia, the East Indies, etc., with a spotted or striped coat and a long curled tail.

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palm civet British  

noun

1. any of various small civet-like arboreal viverrine mammals of the genera Paradoxurus, Hemigalus, etc, of Africa and S and SE Asia

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Etymology

Origin of palm civet

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Other animals identified as a potential source of the pandemic were the masked palm civet, which was also associated with the Sars outbreak in 2003, as well as hoary bamboo rats and Malayan porcupines.

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2024

The palm civet is devoured as a sham cure for insomnia.

From The Guardian • Apr. 11, 2020

Dzykfjxqugh’s brown palm civet: A small, nocturnal Asian mammal named for the renowned zoologist Thomas Dzykfjxqugh.

From Washington Post • Jun. 8, 2017

At first scientists found the virus in the catlike palm civet of Southeast Asia.

From New York Times • May 30, 2011

In Indonesia, the Asian palm civet, which raids commercial fruit farms, is often seen as a pest, so the growth in the kopi luwak industry encouraged local people to protect civets for their valuable dung.

From National Geographic