What does coypou mean?
The coypu, also spelled coypou and widely known in North America as the nutria, is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to South America, where it inhabits rivers, marshes, and lakesides. Resembling a hefty water rat or a small beaver, it grows up to about sixty centimetres in body length plus a long, round, sparsely haired tail, and is distinguished by its webbed hind feet and striking orange incisors. Coypus feed chiefly on aquatic vegetation and dig extensive burrow systems in banks, which can cause erosion and damage flood defences where they have been introduced. Farmed extensively during the twentieth century for their dense, water-repellent fur, escaped animals established wild populations in North America, Europe, and Asia. In Britain they were declared fully eradicated in 1989 after an intensive trapping campaign, making the species a textbook example of both the fur trade's ecological legacy and successful invasive-species control.
nounA large semi-aquatic South American rodent (Myocastor coypus) resembling a beaver with a rat-like tail, valued for its fur and often called the nutria.
- A large semi-aquatic rodent of South America (Myocastor coypus), also known as the nutria, kept for its fur and established in the wild in parts of North America, Europe, and Asia.
"The riverbank was riddled with burrows dug by escaped coypus."
"Conservationists trapped hundreds of coypus to protect the fragile marshland reeds."
"In Louisiana, the invasive coypu devours vegetation so aggressively that it has destabilized miles of coastal wetland."
Both 'coypus' and the unchanged plural 'coypu' are accepted; 'coypus' is the more common form in general writing.
"Wildlife officers counted dozens of coypus along the drainage channels."
Bred in British fur farms, the coypu escaped into East Anglia's waterways and thrived there for decades before being completely eradicated by 1989.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coypou
The word 'coypou' entered English via French from the Araucanian (Mapudungun) language of Chile and Argentina, in which it referred to the animal itself. It was adopted into natural-history writing as European explorers described South American wildlife, and variant spellings including 'coypu' became established in English scientific and popular usage. Because the term derives directly from an indigenous American word rather than Latin or Greek roots, it has few true cognates in English beyond its own spelling variants.
How coypou is actually used
Also spelled 'coypu', which is now the more common form; 'nutria' is the usual term in North America. The plural may be 'coypus' or occasionally the unchanged 'coypu'. The word carries no strong connotation, though in regions where it is invasive it is discussed in negative, environmental terms.
Easily confused with coypou
The beaver is a larger rodent with a flat, paddle-like tail and builds dams, whereas the coypu has a thin, round, rat-like tail and does not build dams.
The muskrat is much smaller than the coypu; the coypu can weigh up to around nine kilograms and has bright orange incisor teeth.