polecat

[ pohl-kat ]

/ ˈpoʊlˌkæt /

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noun, plural pole·cats, (especially collectively) pole·cat.

a European mammal, Mustela putorius, of the weasel family, having a blackish fur and ejecting a fetid fluid when attacked or disturbed.Compare ferret¹ (def. 1).

any of various North American skunks.

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Origin of polecat

1275–1325; Middle English polcat, perhaps equivalent to Middle French pol, poul “chicken” (<Latin pullus ) + cat

Words nearby polecat

polder, pole, poleax, poleaxe, pole bean, polecat, pole compass, Pol. Econ., pole dancing, pole hammer, pole horse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use polecat in a sentence

Indeed, the whole tribe of Weasels is well represented, and the polecat is seen there as well as the Weasel.
Bible Animals;|J. G. Wood
Instead of this fringe, the tassels sometimes consists of the tail of a polecat or some other animal.
Early Western Travels 1748-1846, Volume XX|Various
He commissioned his comrade to bring him offerings of a white wolf, a polecat, some pounded maize, and eagles' tails.
The Medicine-Men of the Apache. (1892 N 09 / 1887-1888 (pages 443-604))|John G. Bourke
A man is a darned fool to fight a polecat, Cap'n Sproul, and you ought to have known better than to let drive at him as you did.
The Skipper and the Skipped|Holman Day

His teeth are like those of the polecat, though larger and stronger in proportion to its size.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VI (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon

British Dictionary definitions for polecat

polecat

/ (ˈpəʊlˌkæt) /

noun plural -cats or -cat

Also called (formerly): foumart a dark brown musteline mammal, Mustela putorius, of woodlands of Europe, Asia, and N Africa, that is closely related to but larger than the weasel and gives off an unpleasant smellSee also sweet marten

any of various related animals, such as the marbled polecat, Vormela peregusna

US a nontechnical name for skunk (def. 1)

Word Origin for polecat

C14 polcat, perhaps from Old French pol cock, from Latin pullus, + cat 1; from its habit of preying on poultry

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