# mongoose
## English

Wikispecies

### Alternative forms

* mungoose (archaic)

### Etymology

First attested in the 1690s. Borrowed from Portuguese mangusto, from Marathi मुंगूस (muṅgūs), from Old Marathi 𑘦𑘳𑘽𑘐𑘳𑘭 (muṃgusa), from Sanskrit मद्गुश (madguśa). Ultimately a Dravidian borrowing (compare Telugu ముంగిస (muṅgisa)). Spelling altered by folk-etymological association with goose. Displaced native Old English nǣderbita (literally “snake biter”).

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈmɒŋ.ɡuːs/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (US) IPA: /ˈmɑŋ.ɡus/, /ˈmʌŋ.ɡus/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɒŋɡuːs, -ɑŋɡus, -ʌŋɡus

### Noun

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* Any of several species of generalist predatory carnivores in the family Herpestidae; the various species range in size from rats to large cats. Indian mongooses are predators of venomous snakes, though other mongoose species have similar habits.
** 1864, John Holmes Agnew et al., The Eclectic Magazine: Foreign Literature‎:After the mongoose had satisfied its appetite, we proceeded to examine with a pocket lens the wounds he had received from the cobra; and on cleansing one of these places, the lens disclosed the broken fang of the cobra deeply imbedded in the head of the mongoose... We have had the mongoose confined ever since (now four days' time), and it is as healthy and lively as ever.
** 1924, Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book:Rikki-Tikki-Tavi:He was a mongoose, rather like a little cat in his fur and his tail, but quite like a weasel in his head and his habits.
* Any members of family Eupleridae of Malagasy mongooses, only distantly related to the Herpestidae, but resembling them in appearance and habits, with larger ears and ringed tails.

#### Derived terms

* African mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon)
* Angolan slender mongoose (Galerella flavescens)
* banded mongoose (Mungos mungo)
* Bengal mongoose (Urva javanica palustris, syn. Herpestes javanicus palustris)
* black-footed mongoose (Bdeogale nigripes)
* black-legged mongoose (Bdeogale nigripes)
* black mongoose (Galerella nigrata)
* brown-tailed mongoose (Salanoia concolor)
* bushy-tailed mongoose (Bdeogale crassicauda)
* Cape gray mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta)
* collared mongoose (Urva semitorquata, syn. Herpestes semitorquatus)
* common dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula)
* common mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi)
* common slender mongoose (Herpestes sanguinensis)
* crab-eating mongoose (Urva urva, syn. Herpestes urva)
* dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula)
* Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon)
* Ethiopian dwarf mongoose (Helogale hirtula)
* Gambian mongoose (Mungos gambianus)
* Grandidier's mongoose (Galidictis grandidieri)
* Indian brown mongoose (Urva fusca, syn. Herpestes fuscus)
* Indian gray mongoose/Indian mongoose (Urva edwardsii, syn. Herpestes edwardsii)
* Jackson's mongoose (Bdeogale jacksoni)
* Javan mongoose (Urva javanica, syn. Herpestes javanicus)
* large gray mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon)
* Liberian mongoose (Liberiictis kuhni)
* long-nosed mongoose (Xenogale naso)
* mad as a mongoose
* Malagasy mongoose (Eupleridae spp.)
* marsh mongoose (Atilax paludinosus)
* Meller's mongoose (Rhynchogale melleri)
* mongoose bat
* mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz)
* narrow-striped mongoose (Mungotictis decemlineata)
* Pousargues's mongoose (Dologale dybowskii)
* ring-tailed mongoose (Galidia elegans)
* ruddy mongoose (Urva smithii, syn. Herpestes smithii)
* Selous's mongoose (Paracynictis selousi)
* short-tailed mongoose (Urva brachyura, syn. Herpestes brachyurus)
* slender mongoose (Galerella sanguinea)
* small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata, syn. Herpestes javanicus auropunctatus)
* Sokoke dog mongoose (Bdeogale omnivora)
* stripe-necked mongoose (Urva vitticollis, syn. Herpestes vitticollis)
* Somalian slender mongoose (Galerella ochracea)
* white-tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda)
* yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata)
* zebra mongoose (Mungos mungo)

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* gonosome