What does "genet" mean?

Any of several Old World nocturnal, carnivorous mammals, of the genus Genetta, most of which have a spotted coat and a long, ringed tail.

What is a synonym for "genet"?

Common synonyms include: animal, antelope, armadillo, bat, buckskin, edmund charles edouard genet.

name, noun

name, noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any of several Old World nocturnal, carnivorous mammals, of the genus Genetta, most of which have a spotted coat and a long, ringed tail. countable, uncountable
2
A group of genetically identical individuals (plants, fungi, bacteria etc.) that have grown in a given location, all originating from asexual reproduction of a single ancestor; a group of ramets.
3
A small-sized, well-proportioned, Spanish horse; a jennet.
"Because we come to do you service and you think we are ruffians, you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse. You’ll have your nephews neigh to you. You’ll have coursers for cousins and gennets for germans."
4
agile Old World viverrine having a spotted coat and long ringed tail wordnet
5
The fur of this mammal, or any skin dressed in imitation of it. countable, uncountable

Proper Noun

"His e-mail address is hirosey@genet.co.jp."

Etymology 1

From Middle English genet, ionet, from Anglo-Norman genette, Middle French genette, jenette et al., of uncertain origin.

Etymology 2

Coined in the 20th century from gene + -et.

Etymology 3

See jennet.

Etymology 4

Borrowed from French Genet.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.