squirrel English · revision 1019

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/ ''(UK)''; /ˈskwɝ(ə)l/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|squirel]], [[bor|xno|esquirel]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la-vul|*scūriolus]], a diminutive of ''*scūrius'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) an alteration of [[la|sciūrus]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|σκίουρος|tr=skíouros|t=squirrel]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) literally “shadow-tailed”, as if [[af|grc|σκιά|οὐρά|tr1=skiá|tr2=ourá|t1=shadow|t2=tail]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Beekes and Weekley consider this a folk etymology of some foreign name.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The bushy-tailed tree rodent (1327 in Barnhart; before 1366 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Old English word was ''ācweorna'', which survived in Middle English as ''aquerne''.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The fur of the squirrel, a trade article, was also called ''squirrel'' from the Middle Ages.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb meant “to hunt squirrels” in the 1580s^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and “to scurry round like a squirrel” in 1921;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) the sense “to hoard, to store away”, from the squirrel's habit of storing nuts, dates from 1925 or 1939.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1327 – the animal.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1436 – squirrel fur.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1589 – verb, to hunt like squirrels.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1921 – verb, to scurry round.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1925 – verb, to store up for future use (Merriam-Webster).^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1939 – verb, to hoard (OED).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various tree-dwelling [[rodent|alt=rodents]] of the genus ''Sciurus'' and related genera, with a long bushy tail, such as the grey squirrel and red squirrel.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any of various other rodents of the same family, such as the [[ground squirrel]], [[flying squirrel]] and [[chipmunk]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The fur of such a rodent.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A person who hoards things.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To store or hide away for future use, often with ''away''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[squirrelish]]

+ * [[squirrelly]]

+ * [[gray squirrel]]

+ * [[red squirrel]]

+ * [[flying squirrel]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chipmunk]]

+ * [[marmot]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}