English
viverra
Viverra comes from Latin vīverra ‘ferret’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to burn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to burn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīverra‘ferret’
- Englishearliest quotation 1829viverra
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wer-‘to burn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīverra‘ferret’
- Englishearliest quotation 1829viverra
Earliest quotation: 1829, John Wilkes, Encyclopaedia Londinensis: “Viverra tigrina, or yellowish-grey weasel. […] Mr. Pennant has…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wer- ‘to burn’
wear, guard, ward, regard, con, garage, warn, worm, beware, optic, ware, weir, garrison, panorama, verge, wry, reverence, revere, prosaic, vermin, vermilion, guaranty, diorama, milliner, varmint, vermicelli, vermiculite, vermeil, 67 more
Today it means
noun An animal of the genus Viverra; a civet.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wer- / viverra