different between civet vs covet

English

Alternative forms

• civet cat

Etymology

From French civette, from Italian zibetto, from Medieval Latin zibethum, from Arabic ??????? (zab?d).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?.v?t/

Noun

civet (countable and uncountable, plural civets)

1. (countable) A carnivorous catlike animal, Civettictis civetta, that produces a musky secretion. It is two to three feet long, with black bands and spots on the body and tail.
2. (uncountable) The musky perfume produced by the animal.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 3 Scene 2

     LEONATO. Indeed he looks younger than he did, by the loss of a beard.

     DON PEDRO. Nay, a' rubs himself with civet: can you smell him out by that?

     CLAUDIO. That's as much as to say the sweet youth's in love.
3. Any animal in the family Viverridae or the similar family Nandiniidae
4. (countable, US) Any of several species of spotted skunk, in the genus Spilogale.

Derived terms

• palm civet

Translations

Anagrams

• evict

Dalmatian

Etymology

Compare Italian civetta, Romansch tschuetta, French chouette.

Noun

civet m

1. owl
2. burrowing owl

French

Etymology

cive +? -et

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si.v?/

Noun

civet m (plural civets)

1. (cuisine) ragout of hare, rabbit or wild mammal, with red wine and onions, bound with the animal’s blood.

Further reading

• “civet” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Middle English coveten, coveiten, coveyten, from Old French covoitier (modern French convoiter), from covoitié (“desire”), presumably modified from Latin cupiditas. First used in the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• enPR: k?v??t
• IPA^(key): /?k?v?t/
• Rhymes: -?v?t

Verb

covet (third-person singular simple present covets, present participle coveting, simple past and past participle coveted)

1. (transitive) To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously.
2. (transitive) To long for inordinately or unlawfully; to hanker after (something forbidden).
3. (intransitive) To yearn; to have or indulge an inordinate desire, especially for another's possession.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• covet in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• covet in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.