Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A large powerful wild cat (Puma concolor syn. Felis concolor) chiefly of mountainous regions of the Americas, having an unmarked tawny body and a long tail.
- noun Slang A woman, especially one over 30, who romantically pursues or attracts younger men.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Several species and subspecies of cougar have been recognized by naturalists, the Florida animal being known as Felis coryi and that from the northwest coast region as F. oregonensis. The southern form retains the name F. concolor: the type locality for this species is Brazil.
- noun A large concolorous feline carnivorous quadruped peculiar to America, Felis concolor, belonging to the family Felidæ and order Feræ.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) An American feline quadruped (
Felis concolor ), resembling the African panther in size and habits. Its color is tawny, without spots; hence writers often called it theAmerican lion . Called alsopuma ,panther ,mountain lion , andcatamount . Seepuma .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
mountain lion ;Puma concolor . - noun North America, slang A
woman ofmiddle age who actively seeks the casual, often sexual,companionship of younger males, typically less than 35 years old; by implication a “sexual predator ”.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun large American feline resembling a lion
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The trend has become so prevalent that the term "cougar" is now a commonly used colloquialism.
Louis Licari: The Last Taboo Louis Licari 2011
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Additionally, 6% of respondents found the term "cougar" offensive to women; 4% found it offensive to men.
The view from a broad: Mother's Day revelations and other fascinating insights on women drivers 2011
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The trend has become so prevalent that the term "cougar" is now a commonly used colloquialism.
Louis Licari: The Last Taboo Louis Licari 2011
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The trend has become so prevalent that the term "cougar" is now a commonly used colloquialism.
Louis Licari: The Last Taboo Louis Licari 2011
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The trend has become so prevalent that the term "cougar" is now a commonly used colloquialism.
Louis Licari: The Last Taboo Louis Licari 2011
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Some women will be given the label cougar as early as 25, though I have most commonly seen it used to reference women who are 35 plus.
This Is A Cougar Renee 2009
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As Rebecca Traister writes on Salon. com: "Is it possible that women who embrace the term cougar don't know they're being laughed at?"
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COSTELLO: Linda Kaplan Thaler says maybe it's time women demanded the term cougar be changed to "sophisticat".
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The term cougar doesn't really seem to be about an age difference than it does about how you feel about yourself.
Dr. Susan Albers: What Courtney Cox Revealed About Her Body 2009
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Some women will be given the label cougar as early as 25, though I have most commonly seen it used to reference women who are 35 plus.
Archive 2009-03-01 Renee 2009
john commented on the word cougar
Also, an older woman who preys on younger men.
November 26, 2007
uselessness commented on the word cougar
Preys? Is it nearly so diabolical?
November 26, 2007
john commented on the word cougar
Clearly you have never met a cougar; it's part of the package. If you don't feel preyed upon, she's not a cougar. Or coug, as my Canadian friends more frequently put it.
November 27, 2007
uselessness commented on the word cougar
So an older woman who likes younger men (and is in a reciprocating relationship) wouldn't qualify then?
November 27, 2007
john commented on the word cougar
I think this is a subject of debate, and that the debates take place mostly in bars. But my understanding is that the coug, like her namesake, is a hunter. An age differential is necessary but not sufficient. I've also heard (drunk) Canadians discourse on finer points, such as attire, preferred drink, etc., but I'll leave those details to someone more in the know than I.
November 27, 2007
uselessness commented on the word cougar
Yes, I'm quite sure cougars are required to wear last year's business attire, and alternate between scotch and mimosa, depending on the day of the week.
November 27, 2007
yarb commented on the word cougar
Perhaps because I'm not drunk at the moment, I can't help re: drink and attire, but I agree that an element of predation is required to define an older woman as a cougar. I suppose the same effect could be produced by a really staggering degree of naivety in the younger man, rendering any woman a comparative predator. But a simple age difference of, say, 10 to 15 years is not sufficient by itself.
November 27, 2007
john commented on the word cougar
“The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar was an aircraft carrier-based fighter aircraft for the United States Navy. Based on the earlier Grumman F9F Panther, the Cougar replaced the Panther's straight wing with a more modern swept wing. The Navy considered the Cougar an updated version of the Panther, despite having a different official name, and thus Cougars started off from F9F-6 upwards.�? More on Wikipedia.
December 30, 2008
Steev commented on the word cougar
in current usage a cougar refers to an older woman who prefers the company of younger men.
Bob found his inexperience with women was an advantage at the cougar bar.
April 8, 2009
gmoney commented on the word cougar
Older, single woman on the prowl.
June 9, 2009