woodchuck
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woodchuck
- /ˈwʊd.t͡ʃʌk/
Where it comes from
Folk-etymological adaption of Cree ocêk, otchek (“fisher”), Ojibwe ojiig (“fisher, marten”), or a similar term in a related Algonquian language, subsequently reapplied to the groundhog.
An earlier form of this word, woodshock, still sometimes designates the marten. Also a doublet of wejack.
noun woodchucks
- A rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots, Marmota monax.
