mungous

Noun

mongoose (plural mongooses or (hypercorrect, nonstandard) mongeese)

1. Any of several species of generalist predatory carnivores in the family Herpestidae; the various species range in size from rats to large cats. Indian mongooses are predators of venomous snakes, though other mongoose species have similar habits.
   • After the mongoose had satisfied its appetite, we proceeded to examine with a pocket lens the wounds he had received from the cobra; and on cleansing one of these places, the lens disclosed the broken fang of the cobra deeply imbedded in the head of the mongoose... We have had the mongoose confined...1864, John Holmes Agnew et al., The Eclectic Magazine: Foreign Literature

   Synonyms:

   herpestid

2. Any members of family Eupleridae of Malagasy mongooses, only distantly related to the Herpestidae, but resembling them in appearance and habits, with larger ears and ringed tails.