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Squirrel   /skwˈərəl/   Listen
noun
Squirrel  n.  
1.
(Zool.) Any one of numerous species of small rodents belonging to the genus Sciurus and several allied genera of the family Sciuridae. Squirrels generally have a bushy tail, large erect ears, and strong hind legs. They are commonly arboreal in their habits, but many species live in burrows. Note: Among the common North American squirrels are the gray squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis) and its black variety; the fox, or cat, squirrel (Sciurus cinereus, or Sciurus niger) which is a large species, and variable in color, the southern variety being frequently black, while the northern and western varieties are usually gray or rusty brown; the red squirrel (see Chickaree); the striped, or chipping, squirrel (see Chipmunk); and the California gray squirrel (Sciurus fossor). Several other species inhabit Mexico and Central America. The common European species (Sciurus vulgaris) has a long tuft of hair on each ear. The so-called Australian squirrels are marsupials. See Petaurist, and Phalanger.
2.
One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder.
Barking squirrel (Zool.), the prairie dog.
Federation squirrel (Zool.), the striped gopher. See Gopher, 2.
Flying squirrel (Zool.). See Flying squirrel, in the Vocabulary.
Java squirrel. (Zool.). See Jelerang.
Squirrel corn (Bot.), a North American herb (Dicentra Canadensis) bearing little yellow tubers.
Squirrel cup (Bot.), the blossom of the Hepatica triloba, a low perennial herb with cup-shaped flowers varying from purplish blue to pink or even white. It is one of the earliest flowers of spring.
Squirrel fish. (Zool.)
(a)
A sea bass (Serranus fascicularis) of the Southern United States.
(b)
The sailor's choice (Diplodus rhomboides).
(c)
The redmouth, or grunt.
(d)
A market fish of Bermuda (Holocentrum Ascensione).
Squirrel grass (Bot.), a pestiferous grass (Hordeum murinum) related to barley. In California the stiffly awned spikelets work into the wool of sheep, and into the throat, flesh, and eyes of animals, sometimes even producing death.
Squirrel hake (Zool.), a common American hake (Phycis tenuis); called also white hake.
Squirrel hawk (Zool.), any rough-legged hawk; especially, the California species Archibuteo ferrugineus.
Squirrel monkey. (Zool.)
(a)
Any one of several species of small, soft-haired South American monkeys of the genus Callithrix. They are noted for their graceful form and agility. See Teetee.
(b)
A marmoset.
Squirrel petaurus (Zool.), a flying phalanger of Australia. See Phalanger, Petaurist, and Flying phalanger under Flying.
Squirrel shrew (Zool.), any one of several species of East Indian and Asiatic insectivores of the genus Tupaia. They are allied to the shrews, but have a bushy tail, like that of a squirrel.
Squirrel-tail grass (Bot.), a grass (Hordeum jubatum) found in salt marshes and along the Great Lakes, having a dense spike beset with long awns.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Squirrel" Quotes from Famous Books



... laughter, for there they knew how to be merry while they ate; but here, the human element was in abeyance, for people who work hard, seldom talk while they eat. From the end of an overhanging bough a squirrel looked at them for one brief moment, wondering perhaps that they should not prefer cracking a nut in private, and vanished—but the birds kept singing, and the scents of the flowers came floating up from the garden below, and the burn went on with its own noises ...
— Malcolm • George MacDonald

... she could plainly see, seemed a long distance off, although it was only a little way down the grassy slope. She looked and looked, but not a person was to be seen. She called to Tige. She remembered that he had been chasing a squirrel a short while ago, but now there was no sign of him. He did not come at her call. How annoying! If Tige were only there she could have sent him for help. She shouted several times, but the distance was too great for her voice to carry to the fort. The mocking echo of her call came ...
— Betty Zane • Zane Grey

... see what she brought. She then lay down a few minutes to rest and enjoy the enjoyment of her feasting family, and again vanished in the grass and flowers, coming and going every half-hour or so. Sometimes she brought in birds that we had never seen before, and occasionally a flying squirrel, chipmunk, or big fox squirrel. We were just old enough, David and I, to regard all these creatures as wonders, the strange inhabitants ...
— The Story of My Boyhood and Youth • John Muir

... dive, some run up trees; 220 Those at His mercy,—why, they please Him most When ... when ... well, never try the same way twice! Repeat what act has pleased, He may grow wroth. You must not know His ways, and play Him off, Sure of the issue. 'Doth the like himself: 'Spareth a squirrel that it nothing fears But steals the nut from underneath my thumb, And when I threat, bites stoutly in defence: 'Spareth an urchin that contrariwise, Curls up into a ball, pretending death 230 For fright at my approach: the two ways please. But what would move my choler ...
— Browning's Shorter Poems • Robert Browning

... pointing out that if anything at all is to be done with Kensington Gardens, why not make a real good Rotten Row there? That would he a blessing and a convenience. We're all so sick and tired of that squirrel-in-a-cage ride, round and round Hyde Park, and that half-and-half affair in St. James's Park. No, Sir; now's the time, and now's the hour. There's plenty of space for all equestrian wants, without interfering with the sylvan delights of nurserymaids, children, ...
— Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 100, March 21, 1891 • Various


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