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# serval

«serval» in Mova's school dictionary: **A slim wild cat of African grasslands, with long legs…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a serval, servals)

### meaning for a pupil

A slim wild cat of African grasslands, with long legs, very large ears and a golden coat with black spots and stripes. It leaps high to catch birds and rodents. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons on animals and habitats the serval shows how body shape fits a way of hunting: big ears hear rodents underground and long legs let it jump over tall grass. In stories it is an African wild cat, not a pet. Some people keep servals illegally or in special permits, which wildlife groups warn is bad for the animal.

### examples

- The serval has the longest legs for its size of any cat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/#x1)
- A serval can leap high into the air to catch a bird. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/#x2)
- Its huge ears help the serval hear mice under the grass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/#x3)
- We saw a serval at the wildlife park in Kent. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/#x4)
- Servals live in the grasslands of Africa near water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/#x5)
- The serval's coat has black spots on gold, a bit like a cheetah's. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/#x6)
- A serval is a wild animal and does not make a good house pet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/#x7)

### note

Countable: one serval, two servals. Say «SER-vul». Not the same as a cheetah or leopard, though its spots look alike; it is much smaller, about the size of a big house cat but taller.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «serval» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/serval/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.