kinkajou

[ king-kuh-joo ]
/ ˈkɪŋ kəˌdʒu /

noun

a brownish, arboreal mammal, Potos flavus, of Central and South America, having a prehensile tail, related to the raccoon and coati.

Origin of kinkajou

1790–1800; < French: wolverine (misapplied by Buffon to Potos flavus), earlier quincajou, perhaps a conflation of carcajou carcajou with Ojibwa kwi˙nkwaʔa˙ke˙ a cognate word

Example sentences from the Web for kinkajou

British Dictionary definitions for kinkajou

kinkajou
/ (ˈkɪŋkəˌdʒuː) /

noun

Also called: honey bear, potto an arboreal fruit-eating mammal, Potos flavus, of Central and South America, with a long prehensile tail: family Procyonidae (raccoons) order Carnivora (carnivores)

Word Origin for kinkajou

C18: from French quincajou, from Algonquian; related to Ojibwa gwĭngwâage wolverine