serval

American  

[sur-vuhl] / ˈsɜr vəl /

noun

servals, plural serval plural

1. a long-limbed, nocturnal African cat, Felis serval, about the size of a bobcat, having a tawny coat spotted with black: now rare in many former habitats.

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serval British  

/ ˈsɜːvəl /

noun

1. a slender feline mammal, Felis serval, of the African bush, having an orange-brown coat with black spots, large ears, and long legs

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• serval
  plural
• servals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of serval

1765–75; < New Latin < Portuguese ( lobo ) cerval lynx, literally, staglike (wolf ) < Late Latin cervālis deerlike, equivalent to Latin cerv ( us ) stag + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

serval servals

The serval did not want to go into her crate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2025

The center also emphasized that the serval will not be euthanized.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 15, 2023

The warning covers serval major cities including Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol and Plymouth.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2023

This area – spanning parts of modern-day Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iran and more – is home to numerous small cats, including the caracal, serval, jungle cat and sand cat.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2023

She knew, therefore, that the only animals who could have made the prints were the serval or the caracal.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

They included a caracal, two servals and 16 hybrid felines.

From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2025

Animal control is now holding Reese, because servals are illegal to own in Decatur, where Mr. Solomon lives.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 15, 2023

Freddie Mercury recorded servals songs with Michael Jackson.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2021

But owning servals is illegal in Georgia, the newspaper reported.

From Fox News ● Jul. 9, 2021

They are either jaguars, or panthers, or leopards, or ounces, or cheetahs, or servals.

From The Plant Hunters Adventures Among the Himalaya Mountains by Reid, Mayne