zenick, n.

zenick
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zenick_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# † zenicknoun

## Earlier version

- zenick in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zenick mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zenick. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

This word is now obsolete. It is last recorded around the 1900s.

### Where does the noun zenick come from?

Earliest known use

1800s

The earliest known use of the noun zenick is in the 1800s.

OED's earliest evidence for zenick is from 1801, in the writing of John Barrow, promoter of exploration and author.

zenick is a borrowing from Latin.

Etymons: Latin zenik.

### Nearby entries

1. Zendic, n. & adj. 1771–
2. Zendician, n. a1833–66
3. Zendicism, n. 1697–
4. Zendish, adj. & n. 1802–1921
5. Zendist, n. 1877–1907
6. zendo, n. 1914–
7. Zener, n.¹ 1934–
8. Zener, n.² 1949–
9. Zengakuren, n. 1950–
10. Zen garden, n. 1937–
11. zenick, n.1801–1900
12. zenitfer, n. 1596–
13. zenith, n. & adj. a1387–
14. zenithal, adj.?1731–
15. zenithal projection, n. 1877–
16. zenith-borne, adj. 1865–86
17. zenith distance, n. 1588–
18. zenith line, n. 1585–
19. zenith point, n. 1585–
20. zenith sector, n. 1775–
21. zenith sweep, n. 1790–

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Latin.
Etymon: Latin zenik.
< scientific Latin zenik, former specific name (in Viverra zenik; J. F. Gmelin in Linnaeus Systema naturæ (ed. 13, 1789) vol. I. 85) < French zénik (P. Sonnerat Voy. aux Indes Orientales (1782)), of unknown…
< scientific Latin zenik, former specific name (in Viverra zenik; J. F. Gmelin in Linnaeus Systema naturæ (ed. 13, 1789) vol. I. 85) < French zénik (P. Sonnerat Voy. aux Indes Orientales (1782)), of unknown origin; apparently not from an African language.

### Notes

Sonnerat associates the animal with the Khoekhoe peoples, but this is apparently a reference to the region in which it is found (as also asserted by Gmelin), not to the language of origin.
New English Dictionary (OED first edition) (1921) gives the pronunciation as (zī·nik) /ˈziːnɪk/ .

## Meaning & use

Obsolete.

1. 1801–1900
   The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta.
   1. 1801

      > Others of this genus [sc. Viverra] are the muskiliatte cat, or zenik, of the Systema Naturæ; the tigrina [etc.].

      J. Barrow, Account Trav. Interior South Afr. 1797–8 vol. I. iii. 231
   2. 1865

      > The Zenick, sometimes termed the Suricate, is a native of Southern Africa.

      J. G. Wood, Illustrated Natural History (new edition) vol. I. 252
   3. 1900

      > The suricate (suricata tetradactyla), or zenick, or meerkat, as the Cape farmers call him, is a kittenish little beast.

      Public School Magazine May 335/1
   animals
   1. four-toed weasel 1771–
      Applied with qualifying words to various animals belonging to the family Mustelidæ, or having some marked resemblance to the weasel, as fisher weasel…
   2. suricate 1780–
      An animal of the genus Suricata, esp. S. zenik or S. tetradactyla, a viverrine burrowing carnivore of southern Africa; the meerkat or zenick.
   3. meerkat 1801–
      Any of several small, agile mammals found in southern Africa, such as the mongooses Cynictis penicillata and Mungos mungo, the African ground…
   4. zenick 1801–1900
      The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta.
   5. grey meerkat 1953–
      a. Selous' mongoose, Paracynictis selousi, a solitary nocturnal mongoose of southern Africa; b. the meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Forms

### Variant forms

1. 1800s
   zenik
2. 1800s–1900s
   zenick

zenick, n. was revised in June 2018.

zenick, n. was last modified in December 2024.