It's in an old Oxford Mini Dic (pocket size)
Cat like animal of Central Africa.
Musky substance obtained from it's glands.
And an on line Dictionary.com
a yellowish, unctuous substance with a strong musklike odor, obtained from a pouch in the genital region of civets and used in perfumery.
2.
any catlike, carnivorous mammal of the subfamily Viverrinae, chiefly of southern Asia and Africa, having a coarse-haired, spotted coat, rounded ears, and a narrow muzzle.
3.
any of various related or similar animals, as the palm civet.
Don't recollect the word prior to today though.