raccoon dog

American  

noun

1. a small wild dog of the genus Nyctereutes, common in Asia, resembling a raccoon in coat and coloration.

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raccoon dog British  

noun

1. a canine mammal, Nyctereutes procyonoides , inhabiting woods and forests near rivers in E Asia. It has long yellowish-brown black-tipped hair and facial markings resembling those of a raccoon

2. Also called: coonhound.  an American breed of dog having a short smooth black coat with tan markings, bred to hunt raccoons

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Etymology

Origin of raccoon dog

First recorded in 1865–70

Compare meaning

How does raccoon-dog compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• raccoon dog vs. raccoon

Example Sentences

The researchers dug into the raccoon dog DNA to see if they could have come from southern China, where they might have crossed paths with bats.

From Los Angeles Times

The animal which came up most frequently in the samples was the common raccoon dog.

From BBC

The presence of the coronavirus in samples from the market containing genetic material linked to raccoon dogs, they have said, is consistent with that scenario.

From New York Times

A virus in civets and raccoon dogs sold in marketplaces in southern China matched the one that sickened humans, and a virus later found in bats looked like its ancestor.

From Science Magazine

To test that hypothesis, you would want samples of blood, feces or mucus taken from the raccoon dogs, porcupines and other wildlife that languished, caged and doomed, in the market.

From New York Times