coati

[ koh-ah-tee ]

noun

, plural co·a·tis.

1. a diurnal omnivore related to the raccoon, having an elongated body, a long, ringed, nonprehensile tail, and a slender, flexible snout: the two genera are Nasua, found in the southwestern U.S. and southward to Uruguay, and Nasuella, the mountain coatis of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.

coati

/ kəʊˈɑːtɪ; kəʊˌɑːtɪˈmʌndɪ /

noun

1. any omnivorous mammal of the genera Nasua and Nasuella, of Central and South America: family Procyonidae, order Carnivora (carnivores). They are related to but larger than the raccoons, having a long flexible snout and a brindled coat

Word History and Origins

Origin of coati¹

First recorded in 1670–80; from Portuguese, from Tupi, equivalent to cua “belt” + ti, tim “nose”

Word History and Origins

Origin of coati¹

C17: from Portuguese coatì, from Tupi, literally: belt-nosed, from cua belt + tim nose

Example Sentences

They call this boy the Coati, His name is strange, and so is he.

From Project Gutenberg

He came down a sadder and a better coati, and retired with shame and fear to an outer corner.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Bates says that salt is put on the tongue of the coati as a restorative from the stupor induced by the wourari poison.

From Project Gutenberg

The coati is about a yard in length, nearly half of which belongs to the tail.

From Project Gutenberg

And it descends the trunks of trees head first, just as the coati does.

From Project Gutenberg