I. ˈskwər(.ə)l, -wə̄l, -wəil also -wə.rəl sometimes -wir(ə)l or -wer(ə)l noun
( plural squirrels also squirrel )
Etymology: Middle English squirel, squerel, from Middle French esquireul, escuriuel, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin scuriolus, diminutive of (assumed) Vulgar Latin scurius, alteration of Latin sciurus, from Greek skiouros, from skia shadow + oura tail (akin to Greek orrhos buttocks) — more at scene , ass
1.
a.
(1) : a rodent of the family Sciuridae ; especially : any of various widely distributed small to medium-sized usually largely arboreal forms that have a bushy tail and long strong hind limbs which allow them to leap from branch to branch, feed largely on nuts and seeds which they commonly store for winter use, and include numerous small game animals and several economically important fur bearers — see black squirrel , flying squirrel , gray squirrel , ground squirrel , red squirrel
(2) : scaletail
(3) : the fur of a squirrel used in the fur trade ; especially : the fur of a common Eurasiatic squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris )
b. Australia : any of various flying phalangers
2. : lead IV 5
3. : one of the small rollers in a carding machine that work with the large cylinder
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to store up for future use : hide , hoard
squirreled away twice as much as he actually expects to use — John Fischer