meerkat

Meaning

Noun

• Suricata suricatta, a small carnivorous mammal of the mongoose family, from the Kalahari Desert, known for its habit of standing on its hind legs.

Origin

• From Afrikaans meerkat, transferred use of Dutch meerkat ("guenon [monkey]"), from Middle Dutch meercatte, compare English mercat. Sometimes suggested to be influenced by or derived from an Indian source; compare and . Note however Old High German merikazza, so any influence from Indo-Aryan would have to be exceptionally early.