marmot

[ mahr-muht ]

noun

1. any bushy-tailed, stocky rodent of the genus Marmota, as the woodchuck.
2. any of certain related animals, as the prairie dog

marmot

/ ˈmɑːmət /

noun

1. any burrowing sciurine rodent of the genus Marmota, of Europe, Asia, and North America. They are heavily built, having short legs, a short furry tail, and coarse fur
2. prairie marmot
   another name for prairie dog

Word History and Origins

Origin of marmot¹

First recorded in 1600–10; from French marmotte, Old French, apparently noun derivative of marmotter “to mutter, murmur” (referring to the whistling noises made by such animals), equivalent to marm- imitative base denoting a variety of indistinct, continuous sounds + -ot(t)er suffix of expressive verbs (though verb is attested only in modern French ); murmur

Word History and Origins

Origin of marmot¹

C17: from French marmotte, perhaps ultimately from Latin mūr- (stem of mūs ) mouse + montis of the mountain

Example Sentences

In other words, we wanted to see whether we could use this index to estimate how long a marmot would live.

From Salon

A yellow-bellied marmot shown on a trail camera in Montana.

From Salon

So, does our index, or the number of adverse events a marmot experienced early on, explain differences in marmot survival?

From Salon

Experiencing even just one adversity event before age 2 nearly halved an adult marmot’s odds of survival, regardless of the type of adversity they experienced.

From Salon

Last week Sir Michael Marmot, a professor of epidemiology at University College London told the inquiry that the UK had entered the pandemic with "depleted" public services.

From BBC