# raccoon

Pronunciation: US say "ra-KOON" /ɹæˈkun/; UK/AUS say "ruh-KOON" /ɹəˈkuːn/

## Noun

1. An 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.
   - Simple: A small wild animal with gray-brown fur, a black mask around its eyes, and a striped tail.
   - _A raccoon raided the campsite cooler while everyone slept._
   - _Raccoons doused bits of food in the stream before eating._
2. The familiar masked, ring-tailed species, Procyon lotor, native to North and Central America.
   - Simple: The most common North American kind, with the familiar masked face and ringed tail.
   - _A raccoon had nested in the chimney and refused to leave._
   - _Across the city, raccoons thrive on garbage and garden scraps._
3. Any mammal belonging to the subfamily Procyoninae, which includes raccoons, coatis, and ringtails.
   - Simple: Any animal in the wider raccoon family group, like 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._
4. Any mammal belonging to the family Procyonidae, which includes raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, and olingos.
   - Simple: Any animal in the broad raccoon family, including coatis, kinkajous, and ringtails.
   - _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._
5. Any mammal that superficially resembles a raccoon without being closely related, such as the raccoon dog of East Asia. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: Any animal that looks like a raccoon but is not really one, such as the raccoon dog.
   - _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._

## Origin

The word appeared as "arocoun" in 1608, from the Powhatan word "ärähkun," which came from "ärähkuněm," meaning "he scratches with his hands."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/raccoon (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).