Wile E. Coyote
/ˌwaɪl iː kaɪˈoʊti/noun
A fictional coyote character who repeatedly attempts to catch the Road Runner in Warner Bros. cartoons.
Did you know?Wile E. Coyote first appeared in 1949, while the word coyote entered English through Mexican Spanish from Nahuatl coyōtl, showing how the character’s name combines an English pun with an Indigenous loanword.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
Nahuatl
coyōtl
“Coyote; the animal later identified in English as the prairie wolf”
16th–17th Century
Mexican Spanish
coyote
“Coyote; borrowed from Nahuatl”
14th Century
Middle English
wile
“A trick, stratagem, or crafty device”
1949
American English
Wile E. Coyote
“Character introduced in the Warner Bros. cartoon short Fast and Furry-ous”
Modern English
English
Wile E. Coyote
“The recurring, unsuccessful antagonist of the Road Runner”