/ik nooh"meuhn, -nyooh"-/ , n.
1. Also called African mongoose . a slender, long-tailed mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, inhabiting Africa and southern Europe, and believed by the ancient Egyptians to devour crocodile eggs.
2. See ichneumon fly .
[ 1565-75; ichneúmon tracker, equiv. to ichneú ( ein ) to track (see ICHNO-) + -mon agent suffix ]