wasbeer

Dutch

Etymology

From wassen (“to wash”) +‎ beer (“bear”). Probably a calque of German Waschbär, itself a calque of translingual Ursus lotor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑsˌbeːr/, [ˈʋɑzbɪːr]

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: was‧beer
• Rhymes: -ɑsbeːr

Noun

wasbeer m (plural wasberen, diminutive wasbeertje n)

1. A raccoon, carnivore of the genus Procyon.
   • 2008 July 9, “Wasbeer trekt verwoestend spoor door Belgische bossen”, in Het Laatste Nieuws:

     De wasberen leven vooral in de Ardennen.

     The raccoons predominantly live in the Ardennes.

Synonyms

• hespan (obsolete)
• muskuskat (obsolete)
• rakoen (obsolete)

Descendants

• Afrikaans: wasbeer