caffer cat
- noun
- Archaic
:
gato caffer
- The caffer cat is considered the ancestor of the domestic cat.
Examples
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Unlike other wildcats, the caffer cat adapts well to a variety of environments.
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Researchers found tracks believed to belong to a caffer cat in the savanna.
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The caffer cat is native to Africa.
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I saw a caffer cat in the wild last summer.
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The caffer cat is known for its remarkable ability to survive in harsh environments across Africa.
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Wildlife enthusiasts often seek to observe the elusive caffer cat in its natural habitat.
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The caffer cat, a small wildcat, plays a crucial role in controlling rodent populations in the wild.
Synonyms
49
3.0
A small or medium wild animal like a cat that lives in forests and open fields
A small wild cat that lives in parts of Africa and western Asia
Surface Forms
Morphology
caffer + cat
The first element 'caffer' is obscure/etymological (not a transparent adjective like 'African') and is not defined in the supplied dictionary entry, so knowing 'cat' alone does not allow a learner to infer 'African wildcat.' This is a lexicalized taxonomic name whose meaning must be learned as a whole rather than composed from its parts, so it is not predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
The name caffer cat may come from an old word used by early European travelers for southern Africa. People often put caffer before animal names to show they came from that region, so caffer cat literally meant a 'cat from southern Africa' and now refers to the African wildcat.