coati

[koh-ah-tee]

noun

plural

coatis 

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