'toucanet' originates from French diminutive usage (the suffix '-et') attached to English 'toucan', where the suffix '-et' meant 'small' or 'little', and 'toucan' in turn comes from Portuguese 'tucano'.

'toucanet' was formed in English by adding the French diminutive suffix '-et' to 'toucan' (which entered European languages from Portuguese 'tucano', ultimately from a Tupi-Guarani word such as 'tukana'), and this diminutive formation became the modern English word 'toucanet'.

Initially it meant 'a small or young toucan' and over time it has remained largely the same in modern usage.