civet cat

English

Noun

civet cat (plural civet cats)

1. Synonym of civet
2. Synonym of ringtail (“Bassariscus astutus”)
   • 1894 [1893], Samuel N. Rhoads, “Geographic Variation in Bassariscus Astutus, with Description of a New Subspecies”, in Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, page 416:

     So far as they may now be distinguished, the Civet Cats belonging to the astuta group are characterized: […]

   • [2004, Bil Gilbert, Natural Coincidence: The Trip from Kalamazoo, University of Michigan Press, page 104:

     Another name for the ringtail is, though it is neither, civet cat, because when frightened ringtails exude a musky secretion from an anal gland.]