Erdmännchen

Meaning

1. (neuter, strong) meerkat (Suricata suricatta)
2. (dated, neuter, strong) a gnome or dwarf that lives under the earth

Concepts

meerkat

suricate

goblin

hobgoblin

imp

👿

spirit

sprite

elf

🧝

slender-tailed meerkat

fairy

🧚

Synonyms

Elf

Heinzelmännchen

Irrwisch

Kobold

Surikate

Scharrtier

Translations

stokstaartje

suricate

suricate

suricata

suricato

suricato

lutin

👿

follet

barrufet

مِيرْكَات

σουρικάτα

folletto

🧝

suricata

حيوان الميركات

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈeːrtˌmɛn.çən/

Etymology

From Erde (“earth, ground”) + Männchen (“little man”). The original sense is that of a gnome, though the word was also used metaphorically or jocularly for animals in some dialects, e.g. for the mole. The use for “meerkat” has only become established in scientific use since the 1960s, but is older in Namibian German, where it also referred to the similar-looking Cape ground squirrel (Xerus inauris). Plausibly from Afrikaans erdmannetjie, which is equally used (informally) for these two species.