ringtail

American  

[ring-teyl] / ˈrɪŋˌteɪl /

noun

1. any phalanger of the genus Pseudocheirus, having the prehensile tail curled into a ring.

2. cacomistle.

3. Also called ringsail.  Nautical. a narrow studdingsail set abaft a gaff sail, especially a spanker, upon spears extending beyond the gaff and boom.

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adjective

1. ring-tailed.

ringtail British  

/ ˈrɪŋˌteɪl /

noun

1. Also called: ring-tailed cat.  another name for cacomistle

2. Also called: ringtail possum.  any of several possums having curling prehensile tails used to grasp branches while climbing

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Etymology

Origin of ringtail

First recorded in 1530–40; ring ¹ + tail ¹

Example Sentences

Mountain lions, ringtail cats and wolverines are protected species in California, as the agency notes, and permits are required for mounted raptors.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2025

On Dec. 11, video recorders captured a mountain lion sniffing around, followed on Dec. 14 by a foraging mama bear and cub, two javelinas on Dec. 18 and, the next day, a sad-eyed ringtail cat.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2024

Over the weekend he was out on a run in Balmoral and found this ringtail possum in the middle of the road.

From The Guardian • Dec. 23, 2019

Four of those species – the leadbeater’s possum, swift parrot, western ringtail possum and regent honeyeater – are among the 20 bird and 20 mammal species most likely to become extinct within 20 years.

From The Guardian • Mar. 30, 2019

The next day I’d hurry back, and sure enough, nine times out of ten, there in the clean-swept ground I would again find the tracks of a ringtail coon.

From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls