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Raccoons are famous for their tendency to "wash" their food, but they're not washing anything at all!
(lemmy.world)
this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2025
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Interesting that it's the same meaning. I wonder if it came from the Germanic word (particularly the Dutch), or if both languages ended up calling them the same thing independently?
I wouldn't be surprised if we learned it from the Germans as I don't think the little guys are native to Japan!
The Dutch and Portuguese were the most influential early foreigners, and it's "washing bear" in Dutch as well, so they would be the prime suspect.
That's true. I think we use German loan words mostly for medical stuff (probably not anymore).