Word Origin and History for semi-Expand before vowels sem-, word-forming element meaning half, part, partly; partial, imperfect; twice, from Latin semi-half, from PIE *semi-half (cf. Sanskrit sami half, Greek hemi-half, Old English sam-, Gothic sami-half).
Well-known rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils and capybaras. Other animals such as rabbits, hares, and pikas, whose incisors also grow continually, were once included with them, but are now considered to be in a separate order, the Lagomorpha.
The cat family is one of four families of terrestrial cat-like mammals descended from the Viverraines (civet/genet like mammals). These four families are linked by the presence of an ossified segment in the auditory bulla of the inner ear; a feature not found in dog-like carnivorans.