Word Study
ratel
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun ratel has 1 sense
- ratel(n = noun.animal) honey badger, mellivora capensis - nocturnal badger-like carnivore of wooded regions of Africa and southern Asia; Array is a kind of mustelid, musteline, musteline mammal
is a member of genus mellivora, mellivora
CIDE DICTIONARY
ratel, n. [F.].
Any carnivore of the genus Mellivora , allied to the weasels and the skunks; -- called also honey badger . [1913 Webster]
" Several species are known in Africa and India. The Cape ratel (Mellivora Capensis ) and the Indian ratel (Mellivora Indica ) are the best known. The back is gray; the lower parts, face, and tail are black. They are fond of honey, and rob the nests of wild bees."
[1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
ratel, n. an African and Indian nocturnal flesh-eating burrowing mammal, Mellivora capensis. Also called honey-badger.
Etymology
Afrik., of unkn. orig.
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