civets

Noun

civet (countable and uncountable, plural civets)

1. Any of the small carnivorous catlike mammals encompassing certain species from the families Viverridae, Eupleridae, and Nandiniidae, native to tropical Africa and Asia.

   Synonyms:

   civet cat

2. (uncountable) The musky perfume produced by the animal; civetone.
   • LEONATO. Indeed he looks younger than he did, by the loss of a beard.
     DON PEDRO. Nay, a' rubs himself with civet: can you smell him out by that?
     CLAUDIO. That's as much as to say the sweet youth's in love.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
3. (US, regional) A spotted skunk.
   • I believe other animals are the same; but skunk and civet are not so particular what they eat; anything half decomposed or rotten will answer.1906, A. R. Harding, editor, A Book of Instruction Giving Many Methods of Trapping—A Valuable Book for Trappers, page 41
4. (US, regional) A ringtail (Bassariscus astutus).
   • The civet, Bassariscus astutus flavus, a new host for Uncinaria lotoris.— Several specimens of this hookworm, described by Schwartz (1925) from Procyon lotor, were found in the small intestine of the civet or ring-tailed cat at College Station, Texas, by the writer December 15, 1925.1928, “Society Proceedings”, in The Journal of Parasitology, volume 14, number 3, page 197