suricate
[soo r-i-keyt]
- a small, burrowing South African carnivore, Suricata suricatta, of a grayish color with dark bands across the back, related to the mongooses and having social behavior similar to that of prairie dogs.
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Origin of suricate
1775–85; earlier surikate < French < Dutch surikat macaque
Also called stick·tail [stik-teyl] /ˈstɪkˌteɪl/
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for suricate
Historical Examples
The Suricate has but four toes on each foot; the tarsus and the metatarsus are naked below.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., MammaliaFrank Evers Beddard
The Suricate lives in caves and rock crevices, and will dig burrows.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., MammaliaFrank Evers Beddard
The last of the civet-like animals about which we can tell you is the meerkat, sometimes known as the suricate.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural HistoryTheodore Wood
suricate
- the slender-tailed meerkatSee meerkat
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Word Origin
C18: from French surikate, probably from a native South African word
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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