Meaning

noun American musteline mammal typically ejecting an intensely malodorous fluid when startled; in some classifications put in a separate subfamily Mephitinae

noun dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened

originFrom Middle English polcat, pulkat, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Middle English *pole, *poule (“hen”), from Old French poule (“hen”) + Middle English cat. Compare English foulmart.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0