DCHP-1 Online

carcajou in early records of fur traders especially, carcajon, carcaseu, casacajou, carcassause [< Algonk.; prob. Montagnais kākachu through Cdn F]

• 1a n. the wolverine (def. la), a cunning robber of traps and caches, found in most parts of the Canadian forest.

  See also: quincajou  wolverine (def. 1a)  

  • 1703  (1905)  [We saw] the Holes and Dens of the Carcaioux. . . .
  • 1822  The Wolverene, sometimes called the Carcajou, is about two feet nine inches long.
  • 1952  The word wolverine is a diminutive of wolf. Sometimes this animal is called skunk-bear because its size, build and colour suggest a cross between the two. The French named it the carcajou, the English quiquehatch, names derived from the Cree kwekwuhakayo. The Chipewyan name is pronounced knockeye, but usually these people refer to it as "the devil."

• 1b n. the fur of the carcajou.

  • 1806  (1930)  They brought 22 Beaver skins, 2 carcassause, and six Pechause. . . .
  • 1896  (1898)  Their clothing was trimmed with the white-haired Asiatic reindeerskin, carcajou and wolfskin.

• 2 n. Obs. the badger, Taxidea taxus.

  • In Canadian sources, this word is found only in reference to the wolverine. However, in some parts of the northern U.S.A., the term has been used for both the badger and the lynx.

  • 1823  [badger] in this also Buffen agreed, describing the American animal under the name Carcajou.

• 3 n. a treacherous, dishonest person; a thief, a rogue.

  • 1793  (1937)  . . . when a merchant cheats or circumvents them in a bargain, they call him a Carcaseu.
  • 1953  "Somebody robbed us, the low-down carcajou."