Literally: “stinky animal” / meaning: skunk
The German language has a strange tendency to use defaming names for certain species. Even such a noble animal as a white horse carries a German name which does not seem posh at all: it is called Schimmel, which literally translates to “mould”.
Apart from the Stinktier, there are some more examples where the German language kind of discriminates against animals. For example, a wolverine is called Vielfraß in German, which is the equivalent of a “greedy-guts” or “chowhound”. The Siberian jay, a small bird common in Russia and Scandinavia, is referred to as Unglückshäher, meaning “jay of misfortune”, which does not sound too polite either. Lastly, there is the famous example of the sloth, that is simply and fittingly called “lazy animal” (Faultier) in German.
