raccoon

raccoon [ra-koon] Word Origin noun, plural rac·coons, (especially collectively) rac·coon.

1. a nocturnal carnivore, Procyon lotor, having a masklike black stripe across the eyes, a sharp snout, and a bushy, ringed tail, native to North and Central America and introduced elsewhere for its valuable fur.
2. the thick, brownish-gray fur of this animal, with gray, black-tipped guard hairs.
3. any of various related animals of the genus Procyon, of Central American islands, some now rare.

Origin of raccoon 1600–10, Americanism; Virginia Algonquian (E spelling) aroughcun British Dictionary definitions for raccoon raccoon racoon noun plural -coons or -coon

1. any omnivorous mammal of the genus Procyon, esp P. lotor (North American raccoon), inhabiting forests of North and Central America and the Caribbean: family Procyonidae, order Carnivora (carnivores). Raccoons have a pointed muzzle, long tail, and greyish-black fur with black bands around the tail and across the face
2. the fur of the North American raccoon

Word Origin for raccoon C17: from Algonquian ärähkun, from ärähkuněm he scratches with his hands Word Origin and History for raccoon n.

also racoon, c.1600, arocoun, from Algonquian (Powhatan) arahkun, from arahkunem “he scratches with the hands.” Early forms included Capt. John Smith’s raugroughcum. In Norwegian, vaskebjørn, literally “wash-bear.”