GOPHER


Meaning of GOPHER in English

[ 'gəʊfə ]

■ noun

1》 (also pocket ~ ) a burrowing American rodent with fur-lined pouches on its cheeks. [Family Geomyidae: many species.]

↘North American term for ground squirrel .

↘[as modifier ] in names of various burrowing reptiles: ~ tortoise.

2》 Computing an Internet system which searches for documents on topics of interest.

3》 variant spelling of gofer .

Origin

C18: perh. from Canad. Fr. gaufre 'honeycomb' (because the ~ ‘honeycombs’ the ground with its burrows).

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.