Polecat \Pole"cat`\, n. [Probably fr. F. poule hen, and originally, a poultry cat, because it feeds on poultry. See Poultry.]

(Zo["o]l.)
   (a) A small European carnivore of the Weasel family (Putorius f[oe]tidus). Its scent glands secrete a substance of an exceedingly disagreeable odor. Called also fitchet, foulmart, and European ferret.
   (b) The zorilla. The name is also applied to other allied species.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)