guaxinim

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Tupi gûasunĩ.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ɡwa.ʃiˈnĩ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɡwa.ʃiˈnĩ/

• Rhymes: -ĩ
• Hyphenation: gua‧xi‧nim

Noun

guaxinim m (plural guaxinins)

1. raccoon (Procyon lotor)

   Synonyms: guaxinim-norte-americano, rato-lavadeiro

2. (loosely) raccoon (any mammal of the genus Procyon)

Usage notes

• The gender of this Portuguese zoonym is always masculine: when the gender of the being itself must be specified, use “guaxinim macho” for male, and “guaxinim fêmea” for female. Here, fêmea is treated as an undeclinable noun and don't necessarily need to agree in gender with the referent, but would change to fêmeo if so.
• Despite coming from Old Tupi, this word is used almost exclusively for the North American raccoon, while the native crab-eating raccoon is more commonly called mão-pelada.

Derived terms

• cão-guaxinim
• guaxinim-norte-americano
• guaxinim-pigmeu
• guaxinim-sul-americano

References

• “guaxinim”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “guaxinim”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025