agouti

Meaning

Noun

• A rodent similar in appearance to a guinea pig but having longer legs, of the family Dasyprocta.
• A fur containing a pattern of pigmentation in which individual hairs have several bands of light and dark pigment with black tips; any of several genes responsible for this pigmentation.

Origin

• From French agouti or Spanish agutí, both from Old Tupi akuti and other Tupian languages. The name of the acouchi is probably from the same source.