[baj-er] 
| 1. | any of various burrowing, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, as Taxidea taxus, of North America, and Meles meles, of Europe and Asia. |
| 2. | the fur of this mammal. |
| 3. | Australian.
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| 4. | (initial capital letter ) a native or inhabitant of Wisconsin (the Badger State) (used as a nickname). |
| 5. | a swablike device for cleaning excess mortar from the interiors of newly laid tile drains. |
| 6. | to harass or urge persistently; pester; nag: I had to badger him into coming with us. |
| badg·er (bāj'ər) n.
To harass or pester persistently. See Synonyms at harass. [Perhaps from badge.] Word History: Our name for the Eurasian species of this mammal, which is noted for defending its burrow like a knight of old, may come from the badger's knightly emblem. The creature's white head with a broad black stripe on each side of the snout may have brought to mind a badge, hence badger. Good evidence supporting this theory is that an earlier name for the animal was bauson, which comes from the Old French word baucenc, usually referring to a white patch on a horse and also meaning "badger." Bauson is first recorded by 1375, badger in 1523. |
Badger
this word is found in Ex. 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34; Num. 4:6, etc. The tabernacle was covered with badgers' skins; the shoes of women were also made of them (Ezek. 16:10). Our translators seem to have been misled by the similarity in sound of the Hebrew _tachash_ and the Latin _taxus_, "a badger." The revisers have correctly substituted "seal skins." The Arabs of the Sinaitic peninsula apply the name _tucash_ to the seals and dugongs which are common in the Red Sea, and the skins of which are largely used as leather and for sandals. Though the badger is common in Palestine, and might occur in the wilderness, its small hide would have been useless as a tent covering. The dugong, very plentiful in the shallow waters on the shores of the Red Sea, is a marine animal from 12 to 30 feet long, something between a whale and a seal, never leaving the water, but very easily caught. It grazes on seaweed, and is known by naturalists as Halicore tabernaculi.
