Etymology

polecat

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Today it means: Any of several long-bodied mammals of the subfamilies Mustelinae and Ictonychinae, both in the weasel family Mustelidae. Full definition →

Middle English polcat ← Old French poule
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The story

  1. Old French · derived frompoule“hen”
  2. Middle English · derived from*pole
  3. Middle English · inherited frompolcat
  4. English todaypolecat

From Middle English polcat, pulkat, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Middle English *pole, *poule (“hen”), from Old French poule (“hen”) + Middle English cat. Compare English foulmart.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.