Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A carnivorous mammal (Mellivora capensis) of Africa and Asia, having short legs and a thick coat that is dark below and whitish above. Also called honey badger.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A carnivorous quadruped of the family Mustelidæ and subfamily Mellivorinæ as Mellivora capensis or M. ratellus. the honey-ratel of the Cape of Good Hope, and M. indica, that of India; a honey-badger. See Mellivora, and cut in next column.
- n. See rotl.
Wiktionary
- n. A carnivorous mammal, Mellivora capensis, found in Africa and some parts of Asia; the honey badger
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Any carnivore of the genus Mellivora, allied to the weasels and the skunks; -- called also
honey badger .
WordNet 3.0
- n. nocturnal badger-like carnivore of wooded regions of Africa and southern Asia
Etymologies
- Afrikaans, from Middle Dutch, rattle, honeycomb (either from its cry or its taste for honey).
Examples
“Protected here are rare species of animals, including central Asian gazelle (Procapra przewaslkii), Ustuyrt mountain sheep (Ovis ammon cycloceros), and ratel (Mellivora capensis).”
“Wild cat Felis sylvestris and ratel Mellivora capensis have been reported but may no longer exist.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Honey Badger or ratel mellivora capensis Not as cuddly as the other denizens of the Village Zoo, but it has 'tude to spare.”
“My heart is like a singing bird, when Torrington Square is a reef of coral perhaps and the fishes shoot in and out where your bedroom window used to be; or perhaps the forest will have reclaimed those pavements and the wombat and the ratel will be shuffling on soft, uncertain feet among the green undergrowth that will then tangle the area railings.”
“But in Proton they are mining it, exporting it at a horrendous ratel”
Blue Adept
“It is said also to dig up the nests of wasps in order to eat the larvae, as the ratel -- a closely allied South African form -- is said to rob the bees of their honey.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy"
“The Fisi ea bahari, probably the seal, is abundant in the seas, but the ratel or badger probably furnished the skins for the Tabernacle: bees escape from his urine, and he eats their honey in safety; lions and all other animals fear his attacks of the heel.”
The Last Journals of David Livingstone from 1865 to His Death
“I have already alluded to the Cape ratel doing this on the look-out for bees.”
“The ratel, sable, and genet belong only to the north; the beaver is found nowhere but in the Khabour and middle Euphrates; the alligator, if a denizen of the region at all exists only in the”
“Should the bees 'nest prove to be on the ground, or under it, the ratel soon unearths the treasure with his strong claws, and takes possession of it, regardless of the stings of the bees, against which his thick skin defends him.”
Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found A Book of Zoology for Boys
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ratel’.
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Rats
rats, rat, tree-rat, pilori-rat, prorate, pro rata, Ratso Rizzo, ratfink, rat pack, Rat Pack, Rats!, rat race and 157 more...
chained_bear Usage/citation on genet. Aug 25, 2008
reesetee Also known as honey badger. Jun 8, 2007