‖ viverra Zool.
(vɪˈvɛrə, vaɪ-)
[L. viverra ferret.]
† a. The ferret. Obs. b. The civet-cat (Viverra civetta), or other species of the type-genus of the civet family (Viverridæ). Also attrib.
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Viverra, the Ferret, a little Creature that runs into the Burroughs of Rabbits. 1772–84 Cook's Voy. (1790) I. 217 Of quadrupedes, there are goats, wolves, pole-cats, a spotted animal of the viverra kind, and several kinds of serpents. 1813 Prichard Phys. Hist. Man iii. §3. 113 Of the Viverra family. 1815 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. ix. (1817) I. 280 Another species of Viverra (V. prehensilis) is also reputed to be an eager insect-hunter. |