raccoon
Pluralraccoons
- 1An omnivorous, nocturnal mammal native to the Americas, with a mix of gray, brown, and black fur, a mask-like marking around the eyes, and a striped tail.
A raccoon raided the campsite cooler while everyone slept.
Raccoons doused bits of food in the stream before eating.
Note
The name comes from Powhatan: ärähkun, from ärähkuněm, "he scratches with his hands." English first wrote it as arocoun in 1608. The image suits an animal known for its busy forepaws, which it uses to feel, pry and douse its food. In everyday speech this is the default sense, and the narrower and wider zoological uses are built on it.
- 2The familiar masked, ring-tailed species, Procyon lotor, native to North and Central America.
A raccoon had nested in the chimney and refused to leave.
Across the city, raccoons thrive on garbage and garden scraps.
Note
Early colonial writers were still feeling for the spelling. John Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia (1624) has "Rarowcun skinnes." William Wood's New Englands Prospect (1634) has "Rackoone," which he describes for English readers as "not much unlike a Badger, having a tayle like a Fox." When precision matters, "common raccoon" or Procyon lotor sets this one species apart from the rest of the genus.
- 3Any mammal belonging to the subfamily Procyoninae, which includes raccoons, coatis, and ringtails.
A coati is essentially a long-snouted raccoon of the American tropics.
Ringtails and coatis are raccoons found from the southern United States to Argentina.
Note
Here the word widens from a single genus to a whole subfamily, so coatis and ringtails count as raccoons too. The technical word for this level is procyonine, and it keeps the meaning clear when the everyday animal might be assumed. The widest family sense goes one step further and takes in kinkajous and olingos.
- 4Any mammal belonging to the family Procyonidae, which includes raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, and olingos.
Despite living entirely in trees, the kinkajou is classed as a raccoon.
Biologists count kinkajous and olingos among the raccoons of the New World tropics.
- 5Any mammal that superficially resembles a raccoon without being closely related, such as the raccoon dog of East Asia.
From across the yard, the raccoon dog could easily pass for a raccoon.
To the children, the masked creature at the zoo was just another raccoon, whatever the sign said.
Note
Careful writers avoid this loose use, because looking alike is not the same as being related. Despite its mask, the raccoon dog of East Asia is a canid, a member of the dog family. Calling it a raccoon is exactly the mistake its name invites. In writing, use the full name or say raccoon-like, and keep raccoon for animals of the procyonid family.
Practice
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Origin
The word appeared as "arocoun" in 1608, from the Powhatan word "ärähkun," which came from "ärähkuněm," meaning "he scratches with his hands."