weasel English · revision 1024

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈwizəl/, /ˈwizl̩/; /ˈwiːz(ə)l/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|wesele]], [[inh|ang|weosule]], ''wesle'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[gem-pro|*wisulǭ]];^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) it is related to [[nl|wezel]] and [[de|Wiesel]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Its origin is obscure;^(Etymonline) it is probably related to the Germanic word for [[bison]], with a basic sense “stinking animal”, since both animals have a musky smell.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The small slender carnivorous animal of Europe (c. 725).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The weasel is proverbial for cunning,^(Etymonline) and the word has been used for a sneaky, treacherous person.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) The verb and the phrase ''weasel word'' come from a 1900 short story by Stewart Chaplin, in which weasel words “suck all the life out of the words next to them” as a weasel sucks out an egg and leaves the shell.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) The separate sense “to extricate oneself like a weasel” dates from 1925,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) and “to equivocate, to evade an obligation” from 1956.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – the animal.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1900 – verb, to empty (a word) of meaning, and ''weasel word''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1925 – verb, to extricate oneself.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1956 – verb, to equivocate; to escape an obligation, often ''weasel out''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various small carnivorous [[mammal|alt=mammals]] of the genus ''Mustela'', with a long slender body, short legs and brownish fur that in northern species turns white in winter.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A sneaky, cunning or treacherous person.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A light tracked vehicle for travelling over snow.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be evasive; to [[equivocate]] or use weasel words.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To escape from or evade a situation or obligation, often with ''out''.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[weaselly]]

+ * [[weasel word]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bison]]

+ * [[ermine]]

+ * [[stoat]]

+ * [[ferret]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}