marmot
UK /ˈmɑː.mət/ · US /ˈmɑɹ.mət/ noun
Forms marmots
- noun Any of several large ground-dwelling rodents of the genera Marmota and Cynomys in the squirrel family.
Etymology
From Middle French marmotte, from Old French marmotte; further etymology uncertain, possibly from a Gallo-Romance base *marm- (“to mumble; to murmur”) (referring to the sound made by the marmot when eating; possibly related to Proto-Indo-European *mur- (whence murmur) and ultimately imitative; compare also French marmot and marmonner) + Middle French -otte (diminutive suffix). Akin to French marmotte, Italian marmotta, Engadin Romansh murmont, Old High German *murmento (dialectal German Murmentel, standard Murmeltier); see also Latin mūs montānus (literally “mountain rat”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any rodent of the genus Arctomys. The common European marmot (A. marmotta) is about the size of a rabbit, and inhabits the higher regions of the Alps and Pyrenees. The bobac is another European species. The common American species (A. monax) is the woodchuck.
- noun Any one of several species of ground squirrels or gophers of the genus Spermophilus; also, the prairie dog. Marmot squirrel (Zoöl.), a ground squirrel or spermophile.
Etymology [It. marmotta, marmotto, prob. fr. L. mus montanus, or mus montis, lit., mountain mouse or rat. See Mountain, and Mouse.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “marmot”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details