squirrel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/ (UK); /ˈskwɝ(ə)l/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English squirel, borrowed from Anglo-Norman esquirel,^[2][3][4][5] from Vulgar Latin *scūriolus, a diminutive of *scūrius,^[2][3][4][5] an alteration of Latin sciūrus,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros, “squirrel”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} literally “shadow-tailed”, as if from Ancient Greek σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Beekes and Weekley consider this a folk etymology of some foreign name.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The bushy-tailed tree rodent (1327 in Barnhart; before 1366 in the OED).^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The Old English word was ācweorna, which survived in Middle English as aquerne.^[4][6] The fur of the squirrel, a trade article, was also called squirrel from the Middle Ages.^[4][7] The verb meant “to hunt squirrels” in the 1580s^[4][7] and “to scurry round like a squirrel” in 1921;^[7][4] the sense “to hoard, to store away”, from the squirrel's habit of storing nuts, dates from 1925 or 1939.^[5][7][4]

Timeline

• 1327 – the animal.^[3]
• 1436 – squirrel fur.^[7]
• 1589 – verb, to hunt like squirrels.^[7]
• 1921 – verb, to scurry round.^[7][4]
• 1925 – verb, to store up for future use (Merriam-Webster).^[5]
• 1939 – verb, to hoard (OED).^[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Any of various tree-dwelling rodents of the genus Sciurus and related genera, with a long bushy tail, such as the grey squirrel and red squirrel.
2. Any of various other rodents of the same family, such as the ground squirrel, flying squirrel and chipmunk.
3. The fur of such a rodent.
4. A person who hoards things.

Verb

1. To store or hide away for future use, often with away.

Word family

• squirrelish
• squirrelly
• gray squirrel
• red squirrel
• flying squirrel

Related words

• chipmunk
• marmot

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press