viverrid

noun

vi·​ver·​rid vī-ˈver-əd 

: 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

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Viverridae, from Viverra, type genus, from Latin viverra ferret; akin to Old English ācweorna squirrel, Lithuanian voverė

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined above