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squirrelish

 - 3 dictionary results

squir⋅rel

  [skwur-uhl, skwuhr- or, especially Brit., skwir-uhl] noun, plural -rels, (especially collectively) -rel, verb, -reled, -rel⋅ing or (especially British) -relled, -rel⋅ling.
Use squirrelish in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of numerous arboreal, bushy-tailed rodents of the genus Sciurus, of the family Sciuridae.
2. any of various other members of the family Sciuridae, as the chipmunks, flying squirrels, and woodchucks.
3. the meat of such an animal.
4. the pelt or fur of such an animal: a coat trimmed with squirrel.
–verb (used with object)
5. to store or hide (money, valuables, etc.), usually for the future (often fol. by away): I've squirreled away a few dollars for an emergency.
Origin:
1325–75; ME squirel < AF escuirel (OF escuireul) ≪ VL *scūrellus, *scūriolus, repr. L sciurus (< Gk skíouros lit., shadow-tailed (ski(á) shadow + -ouros, adj. deriv. of ourá tail); appar. so called because the tail was large enough to provide shade for the rest of the animal) with dim. suffixes -ellus, -olus

Related forms:
squir⋅rel⋅ish, squir⋅rel⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
squirrel

  1. n.
    a strange or eccentric person. : Martin can be such a squirrel.
  2. n.
    a car engine's horsepower. (Usually plural.) : I got 440 squirrels and a gaggle of carburetors.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

squirrel 
1327, from Anglo-Fr. esquirel, O.Fr. escurel (Fr. écureuil), from V.L. *scuriolus, dim. of *scurius "squirrel," variant of L. sciurus, from Gk. skiouros "a squirrel," lit. "shadow-tailed," from skia "shadow" + oura "tail." Perhaps the original notion is "that which makes a shade with its tail." The verb meaning "to hoard up, store away" (as a aquirrel does nuts) is first recorded 1939; squirrely is from 1925. The O.E. word was acweorna, which survived into M.E. as aquerne.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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