polecat
pronunciation
How to pronounce polecat in British English:
UK [ˈpəʊlkæt]
How to pronounce polecat in American English:
US [ˈpoʊlkæt]
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- Noun:
- American musteline mammal typically ejecting an intensely malodorous fluid when startled; in some classifications put in a separate subfamily Mephitinae
- dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened
Word Origin
- polecat (n.)
- early 14c., from cat (n.); the first element is perhaps Anglo-French pol, from Old French poule "fowl, hen" (see pullet (n.)); so called because it preys on poultry [Klein]. The other alternative is that the first element is from Old French pulent "stinking," for obvious reasons. Originally the European Putorius foetidus; also applied to related U.S. skunks since 1680s.