flying cat

9.9

A night animal that lives in trees in Southeast Asia and glides using a skin fold from neck to tail

noun
/ˈflaɪɪŋ kæt/

Philippine

: gato volador

The flying cat glides gracefully through the forest canopy, searching for fruit and young leaves.

Examples

The flying cat can glide over 150 feet from tree to tree to find food.
Despite its name, the flying cat is not a feline but is more closely related to primates.
Researchers observed a flying cat make an impressive leap between two distant trees.
The flying cat glided gracefully between the trees.
Have you ever seen a flying cat in the wild?
In Southeast Asia, the flying cat uses its gliding ability to escape predators at night.
Visitors to the zoo enjoyed watching the flying cat move effortlessly among the branches.

Synonyms

colugo

vsflying cat

Philippine

9.9

A night animal that lives in trees in Southeast Asia and glides using wide skin flaps

is the descriptive common name that stresses resemblance to lemurs

flying lemur

vsflying cat

Philippine

8.9

A night animal that lives in trees in Southeast Asia and glides on skin flaps

is the single-word alternative name used for the same mammal

Surface Forms

flying cat singular

flying cats plural

Morphology

fly + cat

The compound is compositionally formed from 'flying' + 'cat', so a B1 learner who knows those words will most likely infer 'a cat that flies' or an animal like a cat that moves through the air. However, the actual referent is a colugo (not a true cat) that glides rather than truly flies, so the precise zoological meaning and nuance are not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Flying cat comes from a simple picture: the animal looks a bit like a cat and spreads a skin 'wing' to 'glide' between trees, so people called it a flying cat. That's why the name now means a gliding tree mammal rather than a real cat that flies.