Cougar (German)
Where does "Cougar" come from?
The word 'cougar' has a fascinating journey that began with the Old Tupi word 'sûasuarana', meaning 'like a deer.' This term traveled through Portuguese and French before being adopted into English to describe the large cat, later taking on a metaphorical slang meaning. Eventually, it was borrowed by German as both a synonym for the puma and as a colloquial term for an older woman dating younger men.
Full etymology tree
- Cougar (German), 'cougar (woman who has sexual relations with younger men)'
- borrowed cougar (English), 'A wild feline, of species Puma concolor, native to the Americas.'
- borrowed couguar (French), 'cougar (Puma concolor)'
- borrowed cuguardo (Portuguese)
- derived suçuarana (Portuguese), 'cougar (Puma concolor)'
- borrowed sûasuarana (Old Tupi), 'cougar (Puma concolor)'
- derived suçuarana (Portuguese), 'cougar (Puma concolor)'
- borrowed cuguardo (Portuguese)
- borrowed couguar (French), 'cougar (Puma concolor)'
- borrowed cougar (English), 'A wild feline, of species Puma concolor, native to the Americas.'
Ancestors
- cougar (English)
- couguar (French)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris