Erdmännchen

Etymology
From. 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. Plausibly from, which is equally used (informally) for these two species.

Noun

 * 1)  meerkat
 * 2)  a gnome or dwarf that lives under the earth
 * 1)  a gnome or dwarf that lives under the earth