musk cat

English

Alternative forms

• muskat [17th c.]

Noun

musk cat (plural musk cats)

1. (chiefly obsolete) An animal which secretes musk, such as a civet, or musk deer.
   • 1633, John Donne, The Comparison:

     As the sweet sweat of Roses in a Still, / As that which from chaf'd muskats pores doth trill […]

2. (obsolete, derogatory) A scented effeminate dandy.
3. (obsolete) A prostitute.