CIVET, a kind of perfume approaching in smell to musk and ambergris. It is obtained from two species of the genus Viverra, one of which is found in Africa and the other in Asia. The civet is contained in a sac situated beneath the tail of both the male and female; and by a contractile movement of the animal it is made to issue through an aperture in the sac. It has the consistence of honey, a clear yellowish colour, and an odour that is disagreeably powerful till diluted by mixture with some other substance. This animal, popularly
known as the civet-cat, is of a cinereous hue, tinged with yellow, and marked with dusky spots. (See index to MAMMALIA.) Civets are reared with care for the sake of this secretion, especially in Abyssinia. Civet, when genuine, is worth from 30s. to 40s. an ounce.