Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

meerkat

/ˈmɪəɹkæt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.49 in modern English

Syllables: meerkat
IPA: /ˈmɪəɹkæt/

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Suricata suricatta, a small carnivorous mammal of the mongoose family, from the Kalahari Desert, known for its habit of standing on its hind legs.

Etymology

From Afrikaans meerkat, transferred use of Dutch meerkat (“guenon [monkey]”), from Middle Dutch meercatte (literally “sea cat”), compare English mercat. Sometimes suggested to be influenced by or derived from an Indian source; compare Hindi मर्कट (markaṭ, “ape, monkey”) and Sanskrit मर्कट (markaṭa). Note however Old High German merikazza, so any influence from Indo-Aryan would have to be exceptionally early.

Origin

Source language: Afrikaans

Word Breakdown

Root: meerkat, meercatte

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈmɪəɹkæt/
British English: /ˈmɪəkat/

Inflected Forms

meerkats (plural) meercat (alternative) mierkat (alternative)

Synonyms

suricate mierkat

Questions

How do you pronounce meerkat?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmɪəɹkæt/.
What does meerkat mean?: Suricata suricatta, a small carnivorous mammal of the mongoose family, from the Kalahari Desert, known for its habit of standing on its hind legs.
Where does meerkat come from?: It is traced to Afrikaans.

How to pronounce meerkat

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “meerkat”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmɪəɹkæt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “meerkat”.
Repeat and practice — Say “meerkat” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.