ratel
Americannoun
noun
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Also called: honey badger. a musteline mammal, Mellivora capensis , inhabiting wooded regions of Africa and S Asia. It has a massive body, strong claws, and a thick coat that is paler on the back and it feeds on honey and small animals
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a six-wheeled armoured vehicle
Etymology
Origin of ratel
1770–80; < Afrikaans < Dutch dialect ratel, variant of raat honeycomb; perhaps originally a compound with this word, referring to the animal's fondness for honey
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He wanted the gnu, and would be very pleased if the ratel would go away and leave it to him.
From The Way of the Wild by Rountree, Harry
Later our ratel sallied forth to "face the world" again.
From The Way of the Wild by Rountree, Harry
The ratel lies in wait for this bird; and, on hearing the cry, makes towards it, and keeps following its flights till the bees’ nest is found.
From Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found A Book of Zoology for Boys by Harvey, William
But the little ratel met that regal stare squarely and unmoved.
From The Way of the Wild by Rountree, Harry
The ratel, however, came calmly at the hyena, trap and all, and so nearly got his own trap-jaws locked home on the unclean one that the hyena was glad to go away.
From The Way of the Wild by Rountree, Harry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
