meerkat的词源

英文词源

meerkat (n.)

late 15c., "monkey," from Dutch meerkat "monkey" (related to Old High German mericazza), apparently from meer "lake" + kat "cat." But compare Hindi markat, Sanskrit markata "ape," which might serve as a source of a Teutonic folk-etymology, even though the word was in Germanic before any known direct contact with India. First applied to the small South African mammals in 1801.

中文词源

meerkat：灰沼狸

来自荷兰语meerkat,来自meer,湖，沼泽，词源同mere,marsh,kat,猫，词源同cat.字面意思即沼泽野猫，后用以指灰沼狸。

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：meerkat 词源，meerkat 含义。