marmot

[ mahr-muht ]

noun
  1. any bushy-tailed, stocky rodent of the genus Marmota, as the woodchuck.

  2. any of certain related animals, as the prairie dog

Origin of marmot

1
First recorded in 1600–10; from French marmotte, Old French, apparently noun derivative of marmotter “to mutter, murmur” (referring to the whistling noises made by such animals), equivalent to marm- imitative base denoting a variety of indistinct, continuous sounds + -ot(t)er suffix of expressive verbs (though verb is attested only in modern French ); cf. murmur

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How to use marmot in a sentence

  • These marmots are larger and far less timid of mankind than the marmots of the Alps.

    Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 | Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
  • The marmots, for example, the largest and heaviest of the squirrel family, just love company.

  • With shrill chirping, all the marmots of this colony dived into their holes and gave the desert over to silence.

    John Ermine of the Yellowstone | Frederic Remington
  • After a long time marmots far away from them came out to protest against the intrusion.

    John Ermine of the Yellowstone | Frederic Remington
  • But, notwithstanding their enemies, the marmots increase in numbers very quickly, and soon over-run a favourable district.

British Dictionary definitions for marmot

marmot

/ (ˈmɑːmət) /


noun
  1. any burrowing sciurine rodent of the genus Marmota, of Europe, Asia, and North America. They are heavily built, having short legs, a short furry tail, and coarse fur

  2. prairie marmot another name for prairie dog

Origin of marmot

1
C17: from French marmotte, perhaps ultimately from Latin mūr- (stem of mūs) mouse + montis of the mountain

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