n.
Pronunciation: v ī - ' ver- ə d
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin Viverridae, from Viverra, type genus, from Latin viverra ferret; akin to Old English ā c weorna squirrel, Lithuanian vover ė
Date: 1902
: any of a family (Viverridae) of carnivorous mammals that include the civets, genets, linsangs, and in some classifications the mongooses and that are rarely larger than a domestic cat but are long, slender, and like a weasel in build with short more or less retractile claws and rounded feet
– viverrid adjective