cougar
/ˈkuɡɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.38 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A wild feline, of species Puma concolor, native to the Americas.
Canadian usage; American usage
noun
An older woman who actively seeks the casual, often sexual, companionship of younger men, by implication a female “sexual predator”.
Canadian usage; American usage; Derogatory; Slang
Example Sentences
- "They are found in Brasil, Paraguay, and in the country of the Amazons; and there is reason to believe that the animal, described by some travellers, under the name of the Ocorome, in Peru, is the same as the cougar, as well as that in the country of the Iroquois, which has been considered as a tiger, thought it is neither striped like that animal, nor spotted like the panther."
- "The Cougar has entirely disappeared, or is very rarely met with. This animal was about the size of the wolf, of a gray color, strong, active, fierce and untameable."
- "The only indigenous long tailed cat in America north of the parallel of 30 degrees is the cougar. The wild cats, so called, are lynxes with short tails; and of these there are three distinct species."
- "Winter’s task was to illustrate cougars—also known as mountain lions—in an urban environment. His research led him to biologist Jeff Sikich, whose work with a mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on the outskirts of L.A. seemed promising."
- "A cougar approached Warren at the Palomino Club and asked for a dance."
- "I am 26 years old and in a respectful but super-sexual relationship with a recent divorcée in her 40s. (A "cougar," in local slang.)"
Etymology
From French couguar, from Portuguese cuguardo, a deformation of Brazilian Portuguese suçuarana (earlier çuçuarana), from Old Tupi sûasuarana.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkuɡɚ/
- British English: /ˈkuːɡə/
Usage
- Canadian usage
- American usage
- Derogatory
- Slang