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raccoon

rac·coon

raccoon

 
pronunciation:
rae kun [or] r kun
features:
Word Combinations (noun), Word History, Word Explorer
part of speech: noun
inflections: raccoon, raccoons
definition: a small mammal with brown and gray fur, a long tail with black rings, and a pointed face with black markings that look like a mask. Raccoons eat plants and small animals such as insects and frogs. In towns and cities, they eat garbage. Several kinds of raccoons live in North and South America and on Caribbean islands.
 
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Word History
Raccoon comes from arahkun, an Algonquin word that means "he scratches with his hands."
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  mammal