coyote

name

1. An island of El Salvador.
2. A trickster figure found in many Native American folklores.

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Spanish coyote, from a Nahuan language, from Proto-Nahuan *koyoo-tl. Compare Chinook ki-o-tī.

1. Canis latrans, a species of canine native to North America.

   “Near Rio Frio we shot several handsome birds, and saw a cayjotte, or wild dog, which in size nearly approached the wolf.”

   “The MWRC animal care specialists attempted to unimprint the coyotes first by limiting their human contact and putting them with other wild coyotes. The hand-raised coyotes, however, were ostracized by the wild coyotes […]”

2. A smuggler of undocumented immigrants across the land border from Latin America into the United States of America.

   “Jorge’s father had pawned his last four goats for $2,000 to help pay for their transit, another loan the family would have to repay at 100 percent interest. The coyote called at 10 p.m. — they would go that night.”

verb

Etymology: Borrowed from Spanish coyote, from a Nahuan language, from Proto-Nahuan *koyoo-tl. Compare Chinook ki-o-tī.

1. To prospect for gold by manually digging holes into overlying earth, as into a hillside.