Etymologically
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raccoon

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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

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