2610: polecats Feb 6, 2022

Polecats and more related to dogs than cats, despite the name. The 'pole-' element at the beginning is not because of their pole-like weasel bodies, nor certainly ethnic poles. Rather, this is from the Middle French 'pole' meaning 'chicken', though it is not entirely clear why. The best theory is that this is what they eat. In Old English, they were known as 'folmart' literally 'foul marten' because of their bad smell. They also used to be known as a 'fitch'.