Dictionary

tanuki en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /tɑˈnuki/ (US)
• /ˈtɑnuki/ (US)
• /təˈnʊkɪ/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 狸(たぬき) (tanuki, “raccoon dog”).

Meanings

1. A raccoon dog, Nyctereutes viverrinus.
   • At my onboarding, I was told that one of GitHub's employees identified as a tanuki, a Japanese raccoon dog—this was fine. 2023 May 28, Nadia Asparouhova, “Remembering GitHub's Office, a Monument to Tech Culture”, in Wired, →ISSN:
2. (Japanese) A folkloric figure in the form of a tanuki, regarded as a shapeshifter and renowned for its enormous scrotum and testicles.
3. The joining of a living bonsai tree to a piece of dead wood for aesthetic effect.

Forms

Synonyms

mangut