different between squirrel vs woodchuck

English

Etymology

From Middle English squirel, squyrelle, from Anglo-Norman esquirel and Old French escurel (whence French écureuil), from Vulgar Latin *sc?riolus, diminutive of *sc?rius, variant of Latin sci?rus, from Ancient Greek ???????? (skíouros) "shadow-tail", from ???? (skiá, “shadow”) + ???? (ourá, “tail”).

Displaced native Middle English acquerne, aquerne, from Old English ?cweorna.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian, UK) IPA^(key): /?skw??l?/, /?skw???l/
• (Canada, US) IPA^(key): /?skw?l/, /?skw?l?/, /?skw??l/
• (New England, very dated) IPA^(key): /?skw???l/
• Rhymes: -??(?)l, -???l

Noun

Wikispecies squirrel (plural squirrels)

1. Any of the rodents of the family Sciuridae distinguished by their large bushy tail.
   • 1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter IX. "The Sea and the Desert", page 187.

     He also said that minks, muskrats, foxes, coons, and wild mice were found there, but no squirrels.

2. (Scientology, often derogatory) A person, usually a freezoner, who applies L. Ron Hubbard's technology in a heterodox manner.
3. One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder.

Synonyms

• scug (provincial)

Derived terms

• gray squirrel
• purple squirrel
• red squirrel
• squirrel friend

Translations

Verb

squirrel (third-person singular simple present squirrels, present participle squirreling or (UK, less common) squirrelling, simple past and past participle squirreled or (UK, less common) squirrelled)

1. (transitive) To store in a secretive manner, to hide something for future use

Derived terms

• squirrel around
• squirrel away

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Cree ocêk, otchek (“fisher”), borrowed from 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 designated the marten.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?w?d.t??k/

Noun

woodchuck (plural woodchucks)

1. A rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots, Marmota monax.

   Synonyms: groundhog, whistle pig, land-beaver, moonack

Translations

Further reading

• woodchuck on Wikipedia.Wikipedia