Definition of "civet" [civ•et]

• Any of various carnivorous catlike mammals of the family Viverridae of Africa and Asia, having anal scent glands that secrete a fluid with a musky odor. Also called civet cat. (noun)
• The thick yellowish musky fluid secreted by one of these mammals, used in the manufacture of perfumes. (noun)
• The fur of one of these mammals. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It certainly seems to have misled people into thinking that - like the animal photographed on Borneo - Hose's civet is reddish."
• "However, in Vietnamese "chon" appears to be ambiguous - "weasel" or "civet" - and some descriptions mention caphe cut chon ( "fox-dung coffee", to confuse the biology) as being processed by the civet."
• "In the Philippines it is called civet coffee or kape alamid (alamid is another name for civet)."