gerbil
UK /ˈdʒɜːbl̩/ · US /ˈd͡ʒɝbl̩/ noun, verb
Forms gerbils gerbiling gerbilling gerbiled gerbilled gerbille jerbil gerbill
- noun A member of one of several species of small, jumping, mouselike rodents of the subfamily Gerbillinae, native to Africa, India, and Southern Europe.
- verb (intransitive) To rotate inside a monowheel or similar apparatus due to sudden acceleration or braking.
- verb (intransitive, slang) To insert a small animal (typically a gerbil, supposedly) into one's rectum (a sexual practice in urban myth).
Synonyms
Etymology
From French gerbille, from Latin gerbo, from Arabic جَرْبُوع (jarbūʕ) or يَرْبُوع (yarbūʕ, “jerboa”). Doublet of jerboa.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One of several species of small, jumping, murine rodents, of the genus Gerbillus. In their leaping powers they resemble the jerboa. They inhabit Africa, India, and Southern Europe.
Etymology [F. gerbille. Cf. Jerboa.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gerbil”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details