agouti

[ uh-goo-tee ]

noun

, plural a·gou·tis, a·gou·ties.

1. any of several short-haired, short-eared, rabbitlike rodents of the genus Dasyprocta, of South and Central America and the West Indies, destructive to sugarcane.
2. an irregularly barred pattern of the fur of certain rodents.
3. an animal having fur of this pattern.

agouti

/ əˈɡuːtɪ /

noun

1. any hystricomorph rodent of the genus Dasyprocta, of Central and South America and the Caribbean: family Dasyproctidae. Agoutis are agile and long-legged, with hooflike claws, and are valued for their meat
2. a pattern of fur in certain rodents, characterized by irregular stripes

Word History and Origins

Origin of agouti¹

First recorded in 1725–35; from French, from Spanish agutí, from Tupian agutí, agoutí, acutí

Word History and Origins

Origin of agouti¹

C18: via French and Spanish from Guarani

Example Sentences

When he wasn’t eating sleek brown rodents himself — probably the twenty pound agouti, which Darwin regarded as “the very best meat I ever tasted” — or collecting small tuco-tuco rodents as pets, the naturalist made important rodent fossil discoveries in Argentina.

From Salon

But even the best-sniffing rodent, the Central American agouti, had fewer olfactory genes than three other species.

From Scientific American

The nine-banded armadillo and Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth followed, while the Central American agouti came in fourth.

From New York Times

The agouti “turns out to have one of the best olfactory repertoires of any mammal, for totally unknown reasons,” Dr. Karlsson said.

From New York Times

Having eaten an agouti, say, the cat will deposit the seeds that are sitting in the agouti’s stomach much farther away than the seeds would have gone on rodent power alone.

From Slate