kinkajou

American  

[king-kuh-joo] / ˈkɪŋ kəˌdʒu /

noun

1. 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.

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kinkajou British  

/ ˈkɪŋkəˌdʒuː /

noun

1. 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)

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Etymology

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 Ojibwe kwi˙nkwaʔa˙ke˙ a cognate word; cf. carcajou

Example Sentences

He kept a kinkajou, a cat-size mammal from the rainforest also known as the honey bear, as well as less cuddly companions—including a rattlesnake curled up near the door.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 11, 2023

Lin-Manuel Miranda voices the titular Vivo, a singer-musician kinkajou; the Buena Vista Social Club legend Juan de Marcos plays Andrés, Vivo’s owner; and Gloria Estefan plays Marta, Andrés’s old musical partner and unrequited love.

From New York Times • Aug. 26, 2021

That’s where we meet them, knocking out “One of a Kind,” an upbeat Cuban-inflected crowd-pleaser with some rat-a-tat rapping by the singing and dancing kinkajou.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2021

In the movie, which debuts Friday on Netflix, Miranda plays a singing kinkajou named Vivo.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 2, 2021

Some few species alone have passed the barrier, and may be considered as wanderers from the south, such as the puma, opossum, kinkajou, and peccari.

From The Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin, Charles