Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Indigenous languages ·1600s
Raccoon
from arahkun
- Meaning
- A masked North American mammal of the genus *Procyon*.
- Source word
- arahkun
- Route into English
- Powhatan (Algonquian) *arahkun* (he scratches with his hands) → English via John Smith's 1608 Virginia account. The original name refers to the animal's dexterous forepaws, which it uses to wash food.
- Arrived
- 1600s
From Indigenous languages
A loose group: Nahuatl, Taino, Algonquian, Guugu Yimithirr, and others. Colonial contact produced many loans; the speakers were often systematically dispossessed of the land the loanwords described.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.