The story
- Middle Dutch · derived frommeercatte
- English todaymeerkitten
Formed by the compounding of meer- (the first element of meerkat) with kitten (“young cat”). The analysis of the -kat element of meerkat as cat is supported by meerkat’s ultimate derivation from the Middle Dutch meercatte, believed to have been formed from mere (“lake”, “sea”) + catte (“cat”).
Words from the same roots
Middle Dutchmeercatte all →
meerkatmercat
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.