spermophile

English

Etymology

From Spermophilus from σπέρμα (spérma, “seed”) +‎ φιλέω (philéō, “love”), hence, "seed-lover". This genus formerly included most of the terrestrial squirrels, but all of the North American species have been split off into separate genera.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɜː(ɹ)məfaɪl/

Noun

spermophile (plural spermophiles)

1. A terrestrial burrowing rodent; ground squirrel.
   • 1920, Thornton W. Burgess, “Striped Chipmunk and his Cousins”, in The Burgess Animal Book for Children‎^[1]:

     Your cousin, Seek Seek the Spermophile, sometimes called Gopher Squirrel, who lives on the open plains of the West where there are no rocks or stones. He likes best the flat, open country. He is called Spermophile because that means seed-eater, and he lives largely on seeds, especially on grain.

Synonyms

• suslik, souslik
• ground squirrel
• gopher

Derived terms

• leopard-spermophile

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɛʁ.mɔ.fil/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

spermophile m (plural spermophiles)

1. spermophile

Derived terms

• spermophile à mante dorée des Cascades

Further reading

• “spermophile”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.