coon
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coon
(ko͞on)n.
1. Informal A raccoon.
2. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a black person.
[Short for raccoon. Sense 2, perhaps after Zip Coon, an African-American character (depicted as an upstart freeman) in the song "Zip Coon" frequently sung in 19th-century blackface minstrel shows (the character perhaps being so named in reference to the black facial mask of the raccoon and to the practice of hunting and eating raccoons frequently mentioned in minstrel show songs), possibly influenced by 19th-century slang coon, rural white American (often one of modest means and opposed to the slave-owning Southern establishment), fellow, so called in reference to the association of coonskin with American frontiersmen.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
coon
(kuːn)n
1. (Animals) informal short for raccoon
2. (Peoples) offensive slang a Black person or a native Australian
3. (Peoples) offensive South African a person of mixed race
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
coon
(kun)n.
usage: Definition 2 is a slur and should be avoided. It is used with disparaging intent and is perceived as highly insulting.
—n. 1. raccoon.
2. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. (a contemptuous term used to refer to a black person.)
[1735–45, Amer.; short for raccoon]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | coon - an eccentric or undignified rustic; "I'll be a gone coon when the battle starts" rustic - an unsophisticated country person |
| 2. | coon - (ethnic slur) extremely offensive name for a Black person; "only a Black can call another Black a nigga" ethnic slur - a slur on someone's race or language Black person, blackamoor, Negro, Negroid, Black - a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa) | |
| 3. |  coon - North American raccoon |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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