pesukarhu

Etymology
Compound of ; and.

Noun

 * 1) raccoon,
 * 2) raccoon any species in the genus Procyon

Usage notes
A working group for naming mammals proposed in 2008 that the raccoon be named in Finnish because a) all other species in the genus have  in their name (although the genus is called ), b) the raccoon is not a, and c) the term  has been used for raccoon fur in Finland and for the animal by Finnish Americans. Opponents claim that this proposed change would be confusing because the term  is unambiguous and  is  in Finnish and is often called  in colloquial speech. As a result,  has not gained popularity as the Finnish name for the raccoon.

Synonyms

 * disputed, see "Usage notes" above