1-Stop Dictionary Reference

Ichneumon

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This word is acceptable for play in the US & UK dictionaries that are being used in the following games:

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. A large mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) of Africa and southern Europe, having a gray coat and black tail tufts. Also called Egyptian mongoose.

n. The ichneumon fly.

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, found in Africa and southern Europe.

n. The ichneumon wasp.

the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

n. Any carnivorous mammal of the genus Herpestes, and family Viverridæ. Numerous species are found in Asia and Africa. The Egyptian species (Herpestes ichneumon), which ranges to Spain and Palestine, is noted for destroying the eggs and young of the crocodile as well as various snakes and lizards, and hence was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians. The common species of India (Herpestes griseus), known as the mongoose, has similar habits and is often domesticated. It is noted for killing the cobra.

n. Any hymenopterous insect of the family Ichneumonidæ, of which several thousand species are known, belonging to numerous genera.

The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. A carnivorous mammal, a kind of mungoose (Viverra ichneumon of Linnæus, now known as Herpestes ichneumon), found in Egypt, belonging to the subfamily Herpestinæ and family Viverridæ.

n. [capitalized] A genus of herpestine viverrine mammals, containing the species I. pharaonis. See Herpestes.

n. In entomology:

n. [capitalized] A Linnean genus of hymenopterous insects, formerly including most of the pupivorous or parasitic hymenopters, now restricted to certain species of ichneumon-flies which are regarded as typical of the genuine Ichneumonidæ.

n. A species of the genus Ichneumon or family Ichneumonidæ; an ichneumon-fly; a cuckoo-fly.

WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

n. northern African mongoose; in ancient times thought to devour crocodile eggs

Word Usage

"The legendary cruelty of ichneumon wasps also the related digger wasps and tarantula wasps is a leitmotif which will recur in the final two chapters of the book."

Hypernym

Words that are more generic or abstract

mongoose

Hyponym