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chipmunk

[ chip-muhngk ]
/ ˈtʃɪp mʌŋk /

noun

any of several small, striped, terrestrial squirrels of the genera Tamias, of North America, and Eutamia, of Asia and North America, especially T. striatus, of eastern North America.

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Origin of chipmunk

1825–35, Americanism; assimilated variant of earlier chitmunk, apparently <Ojibwa ačitamo·nʔ red squirrel, equivalent to ačit- headfirst, face-down + derivational elements; so called from the squirrel's manner of descending trees

Words nearby chipmunk

chip graft, chip heater, chip in, chip log, chipmaker, chipmunk, chip off the old block, chipolata, chip on one's shoulder, chipotle, chippage
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for chipmunk

British Dictionary definitions for chipmunk

chipmunk
/ (ˈtʃɪpˌmʌŋk) /

noun

any burrowing sciurine rodent of the genera Tamias of E North America and Eutamias of W North America and Asia, typically having black-striped yellowish fur and cheek pouches for storing food

Word Origin for chipmunk

C19: of Algonquian origin; compare Ojibwa atchitamon squirrel, literally: headfirst, referring to its method of descent from trees
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012