woodchuck
[ woo d-chuhk ]
/ ˈwʊdˌtʃʌk /
|
noun
a stocky North American burrowing rodent, Marmota monax, that hibernates in the winter.
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Nearby words
- woodchat,
- woodchip,
- woodchipper,
- woodchop,
- woodchopper,
- woodcock,
- woodcraft,
- woodcrafter,
- woodcraftsman,
- woodcreeper
Origin of woodchuck
1665–75, Americanism; presumably a reshaping by folk etymology of a word in a Southern New England Algonquian language; compare Narragansett (E spelling) ockqutchaun woodchuck
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for woodchuck
woodchuck
/ (ˈwʊdˌtʃʌk) /
noun
a North American marmot, Marmota monax, having coarse reddish-brown furAlso called: groundhog
Word Origin for woodchuck
C17: by folk etymology from Cree otcheck fisher, marten
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
woodchuck
1670s, alteration (influenced by wood (n.)) of Cree (Algonquian) otchek or Ojibwa otchig, "marten," the name subsequently transferred to the groundhog.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper