This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
kinkajou
[ king-kuh-joo ]
/ ˈkɪŋ kəˌdʒu /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
a small, brownish, arboreal mammal, Potos flavus, of Central and South American rainforests, having a prehensile tail and extrudable tongue, related to raccoons and coatis: although kinkajous are sometimes mistaken for similarly featured ferrets, they are not related.
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!
Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.
Question 1 of 7
“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
Also called honey bear .
Origin of kinkajou
First recorded in 1790–1800; from French: literally, “wolverine” (misapplied by Buffon to Potos flavus), earlier Canadian French quincajou, perhaps a conflation of carcajou with Ojibwa kwi˙nkwaʔa˙ke˙ a cognate word; cf. carcajou
Words nearby kinkajou
kininogenase, kink, Kinkaid, Kinkaid Act, Kinkaider, kinkajou, kinkle, kinky, kinky-hair disease, Kinnell, kinnikinnick
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use kinkajou in a sentence
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012