agoutin.adj.
/əˈɡuːti/, U.S. /əˈɡudi/α. 1500s agoutin.
β. 1500s– agouti, 1600s– agouty, 1800s– agoutie, 1800s– aguti, 1800s– agutie.
γ. 1600s acuti.
δ. 1900s– gouti.
1. Any of various large Central and South American rodents constituting the genus Dasyprocta (family Dasyproctidae), which resemble long-legged tailless guinea pigs; spec. the common D. leporina (formerly D. aguti). Also: (more fully (long-)tailed agouti) the related acouchi (genus Myoprocta: cf. acouchi n.1).The genus originally also included the pacas, which although not usually called ‘agouti’ in English have been confusingly assigned to a genus Agouti (now usually Cuniculus); see the note at paca n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Hystricomorpha (porcupine or guinea-pig) > [noun] > family Dasyproctidae (agouti)
agouti1568
paca1657
labba1769
acouchi1780
accouri1824
Patagonian hare1839
1568 T. Hacket tr. A. Thevet New Found Worlde xxxiii. f. 51 There is also found another little beast named Agoutin, as great as a Hare..and the taile not aboue a finger lengthe.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies ii. 248/1 A fine coloured beast, called Agouti.
1666 J. Davies tr. C. de Rochefort Hist. Caribby-Islands xii. 71 The Agouty is of a dark colour inclining to black, having a rough, light hair, and a little tail without any hair.
1731 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (ed. 5) Agouty, (in America) a little Beast of the shape and size of a rabbit.
1780 W. Smellie tr. Comte de Buffon Nat. Hist. Gen. & Particular VII. 441 The genus of agouti, comprehending the acouchi, the paca, the aperea, and the tapeti, or Brazilian hare.
1830 E. T. Bennett Gardens & Menagerie Zool. Soc. I. 295 The Long-nosed Agouti..is now almost confined to St. Lucia.
1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! (1861) 281 Smoking agoutis out of the hollow trees.
1903 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 12 464 The long-tailed Agouti, ‘Dasyprocta’ acouchy, Linn., is clearly a very different animal from all the ordinary members of Dasyprocta.
1926 World's Work Sept. 570/2 He has had men hunting in Central America and sending up many new specimens of animal life there, including agoutis,..mice and bats by the hundreds.
1972 A. D. Acholonu in B. Irving Guyana 72 The largest existing rodent, Agouti or ‘Accouri’ (Dasyprocta aquti).
2005 C. Tudge Secret Life Trees xiii. 343 Some take the fruits from the ground, including agoutis and pacas, which are big relatives of the guinea pig.
2. A brindled appearance of the fur in other mammals, resembling that of agoutis and resulting from the individual hairs having banded pigmentation; (also) an animal, esp. one of a domestic breed, with such fur. Frequently attributive or as adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Hystricomorpha (porcupine or guinea-pig) > [noun] > family Dasyproctidae (agouti) > brindled appearance of
agouti1898
1898 Boy's Own Paper 15 Oct. 46/1 The agouti mouse, however, cannot come up to its namesake in brilliancy of colour.
1905 Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 40 62 Its color [sc. that of the house mouse] is usually spoken of as gray, the ‘agouti’ of fanciers.
1911 R. C. Punnett Mendelism (ed. 3) v. 46 The F2 generation from such a cross consists of agoutis and albinos in the ratio 3:1.
1977 Sci. Amer. Nov. 106/3 Most mammals are agouti, but most domesticated mammals are nonagouti.
2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures I. 338/2 The longer individual hairs seem to have an agouti pattern of light bands.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.adj.1568