Servals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of wild feline found primarily in Africa, known for its long legs and ears, which aid in hunting small animals
2. A medium-sized African cat recognized for its agility and distinctive coat pattern, typically featuring spots and stripes
3. A carnivorous mammal belonging to the Felidae family, celebrated for its ability to jump high and its preference for grassland habitats

Etymology: "Servals" is simply the plural of "serval," the spotted African wild cat with long legs and large ears. The name's most striking feature is its origin: it traces back to a Latin phrase meaning "stag wolf," which describes a wolf that hunts stags. The chain runs through Portuguese and French. Latin "lupus cervārius" combined "lupus" (wolf) with "cervārius," from "cervus" (deer or stag), and Portuguese used "lobo cerval," literally "stag wolf," for the Iberian lynx. French then borrowed the shortened form "serval," and English adopted it from there. The name was first applied to a cat of the Iberian lynx's kind, then shifted to the African species, which is a rather different animal from the one the Romans would have pictured.

Synonyms: wild cats, felines, carnivores, cats, big cats