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  1. woodchuck love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A common burrowing rodent (Marmota monax) of northern and eastern North America, having a short-legged, heavy-set body and grizzled brownish fur. Also called groundhog; also called regionally whistle pig.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. The commonest North American species of marmot, Arctomys monax, a large rodent quadruped of the family Sciuridæ. It is from 15 to 18 inches long, of very stout, heavy form, with brownish and grayish tints above, and reddish-brown below. It feeds on vegetables of many kinds, burrows in the ground, and hibernates in winter. Also called ground-hog and chuck. See cut under Arctomys.
  2. n. The green woodpecker, Gecinus viridis. See cut under popinjay.
  3. n. In a lathe, a chuck adapted for holding a piece of wood to be operated on.

Wiktionary

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

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Zoöl.) A common large North American marmot (Arctomys monax). It is usually reddish brown, more or less grizzled with gray. It makes extensive burrows, and is often injurious to growing crops. Called also ground hog.
  2. n. (Zoöl.), Prov. Eng. The yaffle, or green woodpecker.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. reddish brown North American marmot

Etymologies

  1. From Cree ocêk, otchek ("fisher") or Ojibwe ojiig ("fisher, marten"), subsequently reapplied to the groundhog. (Wiktionary)
  2. By folk etymology, probably of New England Algonquian origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “The name woodchuck comes from the Indian legend of "Wojak, the groundhog" considered by them to be their ancestral grandfather.”

    WLNE - News

  • “Before we get started, allow me to set the record straight: A groundhog is also known as a woodchuck, but it's not a beaver.”

    The Huffington Post: Jodi Bettencourt: Groundhog Blog

  • “The woodchuck is a nuisance to the farmer, covering his field with loads of subsoil from the burrow and then eating the tender sprouts; and the farmer does not know enough to eat his tender corpse, but he is good to eat.”

    Three Acres and Liberty

  • “The woodchuck is the true serf among our animals; he belongs to the soil, and savors of it.”

    Birds and Bees, Sharp Eyes and Other Papers

  • “The build of this animal is much like that of the woodchuck, that is, heavy and pouchy.”

    In the Catskills Selections from the Writings of John Burroughs

  • “This evening a neighbour's dog catches an animal called a woodchuck somewhat resembling a beaver; it is considered good food and indeed is to be prepared for dinner.”

    A Journey to America in 1834

  • “For years - more than a century, in the case of Punxsutawney Phil - North American communities have deployed the irrepressibly cute Marmota monax, otherwise known as a woodchuck, to predict, allegedly, the arrival of spring.”

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed

  • “A typical groundhog, also called a woodchuck or by its scientific name Marmota monax, weighs some 9.5 pounds with a body length reaching about 20 inches, at least those groundhogs living in Pennsylvania.”

    FOXNews.com

  • “A typical groundhog, also called a woodchuck or by its scientific name”

    Livescience.com

  • “Now the groundhog (also known as the woodchuck, land beaver or whistlepig) is from the genus Marmota (which also includes other varieties of marmots).”

    Balashon - Hebrew Language Detective

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synonyms (3)

Words with the same meaning

  1. groundhog
  1. whistlepig
  1. squeaver

hypernyms (1)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. marmot

same context (24)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. mink
  2. woodchucks
  3. orrid
  4. coon
  1. weasel
  2. blue jay
  3. raccoon
  4. nutria
  1. ichneumon
  2. porcupine
  3. well-digger
  4. jackrabbit
  1. loutishness
  2. chorus-girl
  3. chipmunk
  4. peacenik
  1. opossum
  2. otter
  3. pouting
  4. wild-cat
  1. skunk
  2. beaver
  3. fishbait
  4. hyena

reverse dictionary (8)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. whistle pig
  1. groundhog
  1. marmot
  1. whang
  1. moonack
  1. bear-mouse
  1. chuck
  1. riddance

tags (4)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. animal
  1. shirt
  1. t-shirt
  1. rhyme

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tagging (1)

Words tagged ‘woodchuck’

  1. whistlepig

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Lists

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Comments

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  • slumry Thanks, oroboros. Jul 2, 2007

  • oroboros See comments under "Tongue Twisters" Jul 2, 2007

  • reesetee Bunch of mongrels, they were. Jun 29, 2007

  • slumry Happened once. There was a rusty nail in one of the boards that the Mongols did board, and the one of the Mongol horde got tetanus. The mut was okay. Jun 29, 2007

  • uselessness Do bored Mongols board the Mongol board horde when hording gets boring and their mongrels are floored? Jun 29, 2007

  • slumry I assume the Mongol hordes would hoard as many boards as the Mongol hordes could hoard, if the Mongols did get bored. Jun 29, 2007

  • chained_bear I don't know, but do you know how many boards the Mongols hoard if the Mongol hordes get bored? Jun 29, 2007

  • oroboros Moo! Jun 27, 2007

  • uselessness How much woolly wood would Chuck Woolery chuck if Chuck Woolery was a woolly wood-chucking woodchuck? Jun 27, 2007

  • reesetee Caffeinated cows chucking wood. Now there's a visual. ;-)

    I think the indolent woodchuck would chuck far less than he could chuck, if said woodchuck could chuck wood, whereas the caffeinated woodchuck would chuck much more than he would normally chuck--if, of course, he could chuck wood.

    Damn, that was hard to type. Jun 27, 2007

  • oroboros He'd chuck all the wood that a woodchuck would, if a woodchuck would chuck wood! Jun 27, 2007

  • jennarenn What if you had a caffeinated woodchuck? Or, dare I say it, a few caffeinatedcows? I bet they could chuck a lot of wood. Jun 27, 2007

  • reesetee What if you have yourself an indolent woodchuck? Then how much wood would the woodchuck chuck? Jun 26, 2007

  • slumry you are right, seanahan--I missed a word.
    Jun 26, 2007

  • seanahan I prefer,

    A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could *chuck* if a woodchuck could chuck wood. Jun 26, 2007

  • uselessness If a woodchuck could chuck wood, a woodchuck would chuck wood, but a woodchuck can't chuck wood, so a woodchuck won't chuck wood. Jun 26, 2007

  • slumry Everyone knows: "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

    But did you know "Why, a woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" Jun 26, 2007

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‘woodchuck’ has been looked up 1820 times, loved by 1 person, added to 12 lists, commented on 17 times, and has a Scrabble score of 24.