agouti

Where does the word "agouti" come from? It comes from Tupi akuti, passing through Portuguese/French before entering English (1600s).

Agouti’s story begins in Tupi: akuti meant “a forest rodent.” Named the large, rabbit-sized forest rodent. By 1600s, the word had taken hold in Portuguese/French as agouti. French colonists in the Caribbean and Guiana recorded the rodent under its Tupi-Guarani name. It reached English by 1600s as agouti. Borrowed into English natural history accounts. Today, agouti means a rabbit-sized, long-legged rodent native to Central and South America, also lending its name to a common animal coat coloring pattern.

1. Stage 1 · Tupi · pre-1500s akuti "a forest rodent", named the large, rabbit-sized forest rodent.
2. Stage 2 · Portuguese/French · 1600s agouti "a large, long-legged rodent", French colonists in the Caribbean and Guiana recorded the rodent under its Tupi-Guarani name.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s agouti "a rabbit-sized rodent native to Central and South America", borrowed into English natural history accounts.