Coyote Word

The "Coyote" word for the Canis latrans came to English through the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs - coyōtl.  

In this language the word also implies ideas of "trickster" or "adversary". It became part of the Aztec religion with the god Huēhuecoyōtl - "Very Old Coyote".

The transition of this word to English traveled through Spanish.

coyōtl ➡ coyote ➡ coyote - same spell, different pronunciation. 

It was added to English in the mid 1700s. 

At dawn and at evening, we hear the coyotes howling with excitement—mating season... we are kindred, all of us, killer and victim, predator and prey.

Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire.