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#96038 02/19/03 09:20 AM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
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dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
That explains the "sea" part.

Oh. I took it that not having seen monkeys the 'namers', whoever they were, decided from its agility and style of movement that it must be some kind of cat. This is certainly an assumption and I can't support it, but until some other explanation is provided...



#96039 02/19/03 10:15 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Yes, from what I read on MW and other sources, it is true that the monkeys were believed to have come to the land from the sea...and that is the meer/monkey part of the equation. The catte part simply meant cat. So it must be that meerkat meant "monkey cat." And the cat part makes sense because, as suggested above, the meerkat does move about with the agility of the cat. As a friend noted in an offline conversation, they look like little men as they stand about. It is curious how they hold their little paws, side-by-side, over their little bellies as they stand in the sun to recover energy lost during the night. Their hands look prim and proper--they stand like dignitaries in a reception line.


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