mongoose
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmɒŋ.ɡuːs/
ipa: /ˈmɑŋ.ɡus/
ipa: /ˈmʌŋ.ɡus/
ipa: /ˈmɔŋ.ɡʉːs/
rhymes: -ɒŋɡuːs
rhymes: -ɑŋɡus
rhymes: -ʌŋɡus
Forms: form: mongooses
form: mongeese
form: mungoose
Etymology: First attested in the 1690s. Borrowed from Portuguese manguço, 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”).
Senses: examples: text: 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.
ref: 1864, John Holmes Agnew et al., The Eclectic Magazine: Foreign Literature:
text: 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.
ref: 1924, Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book:Rikki-Tikki-Tavi:
text: Hannibal Lecter: I think Uncle Jack sees you as a fragile little tea-cup, the finest china used for only special guests.
Will Graham: How do you see me?
Hannibal Lecter: The mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.
ref: 2013 April 4, Hannibal, season 1, episode 1:
glosses: 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.
glosses: 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.
Synonyms: sense: mammal of the family Herpestidae
word: herpestid
Derived terms: taxonomic: Herpestes ichneumon
word: African mongoose
taxonomic: Galerella flavescens
word: Angolan slender mongoose
taxonomic: Mungos mungo
word: banded mongoose
alt: Urva javanica palustris, syn. Herpestes javanicus palustris
word: Bengal mongoose
taxonomic: Bdeogale nigripes
word: black-footed mongoose
taxonomic: Bdeogale nigripes
word: black-legged mongoose
taxonomic: Galerella nigrata
word: black mongoose
taxonomic: Salanoia concolor
word: brown-tailed mongoose
taxonomic: Bdeogale crassicauda
word: bushy-tailed mongoose
taxonomic: Galerella pulverulenta
word: Cape gray mongoose
alt: Urva semitorquata, syn. Herpestes semitorquatus
word: collared mongoose
taxonomic: Helogale parvula
word: common dwarf mongoose
taxonomic: Herpestes edwardsi
word: common mongoose
taxonomic: Herpestes sanguinensis
word: common slender mongoose
alt: Urva urva, syn. Herpestes urva
word: crab-eating mongoose
taxonomic: Helogale parvula
word: dwarf mongoose
taxonomic: Herpestes ichneumon
word: Egyptian mongoose
taxonomic: Helogale hirtula
word: Ethiopian dwarf mongoose
taxonomic: Mungos gambianus
word: Gambian mongoose
taxonomic: Galidictis grandidieri
word: Grandidier's mongoose
alt: Urva fusca, syn. Herpestes fuscus
word: Indian brown mongoose
alt: Urva edwardsii, syn. Herpestes edwardsii
word: Indian gray mongoose/Indian mongoose
taxonomic: Bdeogale jacksoni
word: Jackson's mongoose
alt: Urva javanica, syn. Herpestes javanicus
word: Javan mongoose
taxonomic: Herpestes ichneumon
word: large gray mongoose
taxonomic: Liberiictis kuhni
word: Liberian mongoose
alt: Xenogale naso
word: long-nosed mongoose
word: mad as a mongoose
taxonomic: Eupleridae spp.
word: Malagasy mongoose
taxonomic: Atilax paludinosus
word: marsh mongoose
taxonomic: Rhynchogale melleri
word: Meller's mongoose
word: mongoose bat
taxonomic: Eulemur mongoz
word: mongoose lemur
taxonomic: Mungotictis decemlineata
word: narrow-striped mongoose
taxonomic: Dologale dybowskii
word: Pousargues's mongoose
taxonomic: Galidia elegans
word: ring-tailed mongoose
alt: Urva smithii, syn. Herpestes smithii
word: ruddy mongoose
taxonomic: Paracynictis selousi
word: Selous's mongoose
alt: Urva brachyura, syn. Herpestes brachyurus
word: short-tailed mongoose
taxonomic: Galerella sanguinea
word: slender mongoose
alt: Urva auropunctata, syn. Herpestes javanicus auropunctatus
word: small Indian mongoose
taxonomic: Bdeogale omnivora
word: Sokoke dog mongoose
alt: Urva vitticollis, syn. Herpestes vitticollis
word: stripe-necked mongoose
taxonomic: Galerella ochracea
word: Somalian slender mongoose
taxonomic: Ichneumia albicauda
word: white-tailed mongoose
taxonomic: Cynictis penicillata
word: yellow mongoose
taxonomic: Mungos mungo
word: zebra mongoose