raccoon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹəˈkuːn/ (UK); /ɹæˈkun/, /ɹəˈkun/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Virginia Algonquian (Powhatan),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} in which it was recorded in forms such as arocoun and raugroughcun,^[3][4][5][6] said to be from a word meaning “he scratches with the hands”.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The North American animal (1608, as arocoun, or c. 1600 in Etymonline).^[3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart suggests the name refers to the long scratches the animal leaves on trees, or to its use of its paws when hunting for food.^[3] Etymonline compares French raton laveur, “washer rat”, from its habit of dipping food in water.^[4] The word was later used for the animal's fur^[2][5][6] and for related animals.^[2][5][6] The shortened form coon is colloquial.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1600 – Etymonline's date.^[4]
• 1608 – arocoun.^[3][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A North American nocturnal mammal with greyish-brown fur, a black mask-like marking across the eyes and a bushy, black-ringed tail.
2. The fur of this animal.
3. Any of various related or similar animals.

Word family

• coon
• coonhound

Related words

• opossum
• skunk
• moose

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House