Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A chiefly nocturnal European carnivorous mammal (Mustela putorius) of the weasel family that ejects a malodorous fluid to mark its territory and ward off enemies. Also called fitch.
- n. Any of various related mammals of Asia, especially Mustela eversmanni of central Asia.
- n. See skunk.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The fitchew or foulmart, Putorius fœtidus of Europe, of a dark-brown color, with a copious fine pelage much used in furriery and for making artists' brushes. See fitch.
- n. One of several other quadrupeds, mostly of the family Mustelidæ, which have a strong offensive smell. Specifically— Any American skunk, especially the common one, Mephitis mephitica. See
skunk .
Wiktionary
- n. A weasel-like animal of the genus Mustela, notably the European polecat, Mustela putorius.
- n. US, dialect A skunk.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A small European carnivore of the Weasel family (Putorius fœtidus). Its scent glands secrete a substance of an exceedingly disagreeable odor. Called also
fitchet ,foulmart , andEuropean ferret . - n. The zorilla. The name is also applied to other allied species.
WordNet 3.0
- n. dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened
- n. American musteline mammal typically ejecting an intensely malodorous fluid when startled; in some classifications put in a separate subfamily Mephitinae
Etymologies
- From Middle French pole ("hen") + cat. So named because of its fondness for poultry. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English polcat : possibly Old French poll, poule, fowl, hen; see pullet + Middle English cat, cat; see cat. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“He possessed all his teeth but one, and most of his hair as well, though his side-whiskers had lately broken out in polecat streaks of gray.”
“The great peculiarity in one of these birds was that he, as the seasons succeeded each other, was not always a hen-cock, and not always of the colour called the polecat, which is black.”
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I.
“On one hunting expedition I caught an animal known as a polecat, and that betrayed me, because its scent got on the dogs.”
“Its rind was said to exude a stench of so atrocious a nature that when a dorian was in the room even the presence of a polecat was a refreshment.”
“The hamsters are very fierce little creatures: constantly fighting with other quadrupeds, and even among themselves; but the polecat is their master and tyrant, and carries on a war of extermination against them -- following them through the intricate ways of their burrows, and destroying them even in their dens!”
Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found A Book of Zoology for Boys
“The name probably relates to a poor translation of the name for the European polecat, which is a relative of the fisher and is called the fitch ferret, fichet or fitche.”
“But, for reals, a polecat is a type of weasel or skunk.”
“And I especially like how "polecat" is just another word for "skunk.”
“Sorry to hijack this thread again - anyone found a new kind of polecat we could name after Bill?”
Laonastes/ Diatomys/ kha-nyou/ rat-squirrel - The Panda's Thumb
“Page 11 all joined with Dinkie in the belief that Mr. Sarpee "smelt sweeter," than when interred in the morning; still the smell of the "polecat" was there.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘polecat’.
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• De rerum natura
What is this list about?
Interesting words in nature and natural science (in any language!).
What kind of words am I supposed to add?
You can add species names that you lov...lagerstätte, parthenogenesis, bushbaby, lepidoptera, dinoflagellate, pupation, chrysalis, ephemeroptera, deinococcus radio..., homoplasy, sciophilous, syncytium and 218 more...
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Assorted animals
red-handed howler, big bend slider, false smooth snake, nightcrawler, soybean cyst nema..., jaw worm, neglected worm li..., spiny-headed worm, thorny-headed worm, decorator crab, pleasing poison frog, red-eared slider ... and 129 more...
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Specifically
Being a list of words which have "specifically" in their definitions.
recompose, specifically, Dutch, abstinence, discipline, virtue, namely, opening, century, amalgamation, cup, second and 303 more...
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Furriery
Anything to do with the fur trade.
furriery, badger, trap, trapper, beaver, polecat, fitch, fitchew, mink, chinchilla, rabbit, fur and 47 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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Hedgepiglet
Words for things both tangible and nonanthropic
rorqual, vellus, wrasse, rainbow bee-eater, tinkershire, lemonquat, boomslang, tufted vetch, cubeb, nipplefruit, madapple, wad and 447 more...
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daleshipley's Words
brinksmanship, contravene, teleological, sartorial, conventicle, habiliment, tendentious, acrimonious, ontology, epistemology, impugn, dysphasia and 219 more...
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p is for...
my favorite voiceless bilabial plosive.
panacea, persnickety, panache, provenance, preternatural, penumbra, perfunctory, perspicacity, potentate, pinguid, plainsong, pleonastic and 228 more...
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Flora and Fauna
poa annua, pooka, vole, bestiary, popple, turgor, starling, sharpy, copse, coreopsis, clove, corvid and 348 more...
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2008 Wordlist
Hopefully, I'll be using this site for more than one year. It will be fun then to look back and see what new words I found worthy of notice in any given year.
All words spotted in 2008...longanimity, permalancer, breeder, biodegradable, handicapable, gender-neutral, translator, interpreter, translation, interpreting, kleptocracy, fanfiction and 1598 more...
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mothertongue's Words
aviatrix, interrobang, ysprung, zaftig, aasvogel, glazed, unheimlich, chimera, diphthong, envermeil, humicubation, walleye and 4 more...
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rad/cool/nifty/tubular
scopophobic, mindsight, ubiquity, mexicocity, dwellspring, maverick, skullduggery, future shock, jolly balance, fetid, unglimpsed..., boz pity, defy comparison and 23 more...
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What a Weasel!
Members of the Mustelid family.
badger, ferret, fisher, grison, marten, polecat, skunk, stoat, mink, tayra, wolverine, ermine and 7 more...
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amusing insults
Words that you can use to insult people. The best was when I called my (then) bf a crumb bum (I was kidding!) and he was genuinely insulted! How the hell anyone could take that seriously, I do not ...
twitterpated, insipid, prat, twit, brat, twerp, flibbertigibbet, milquetoast, lollygagger, slubberdegullion, curmudgeon, clodhopper and 63 more...
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zoology
animals of interest
sloth, kakapo, kaka, hoatzin, numbat, wombat, hyena, wallaby, emu, morepork, jackdaw, magpie and 73 more...
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Pejoratives
The words people use to disparage, belittle, and derogate one another. (May start out--&/or end up) with a progressive political bent, as I am "bent" that way.)
nihilist, stalinist, marxist, radical, liberal, incoherent, polecat, denialist, conservativist, mossback, mountebank, mandarins and 2 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for polecat.
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