# squirrel

Pronunciation: US say "SKWURL" /ˈskwɝ(ə)l/; UK say "SKWI-ruhl" /ˈskwɪ.ɹ(ə)l/

## Noun

1. A small rodent with a long, bushy tail that usually lives in trees, or any related rodent such as a ground squirrel, chipmunk, or marmot.
   - Simple: A small animal with a big bushy tail that usually lives in trees, or a related animal such as a chipmunk.
   - _A gray squirrel buried nuts throughout the yard before winter._
   - _Squirrels chattered overhead as we hiked through the forest._
3. A person who shows squirrel-like habits, such as pilfering or hoarding objects.
   - Simple: A person who likes to take or store away lots of things, often secretly.
   - _The office squirrel had stashed every spare charger in his bottom drawer._
   - _She was a real squirrel, unable to throw away even an empty jar._

## Verb

2. To store something away secretly, keeping it hidden for future use.
   - Simple: To hide something away so you can use it later.
   - _Over the years, my grandfather had squirreled away hundreds of old letters in shoeboxes under the bed._
   - _Try to squirrel away a little money each month, just in case something unexpected comes up._
4. To suddenly become distracted and shift your attention away from what you were doing. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To suddenly lose focus and start thinking about something else.
   - _I tend to squirrel the moment a task gets boring, so I keep my phone in another room while I write._
   - _During the meeting my manager kept squirreling, jumping from the budget to her vacation plans to a video she had seen online._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A usually derogatory term within Scientology for a person (often a freezoner) who applies L. Ron Hubbard's teachings in an unorthodox way.
- (noun) One of the small rollers on a carding machine that work together with the large central cylinder.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English "squirel," borrowed from Anglo-Norman "esquirel" and Old French "escurel," from Vulgar Latin "*scūriolus," a diminutive based on Latin "sciūrus." That traces back to Ancient Greek "skíouros," traditionally explained as "shadow-tail" (from "skiá," shadow, plus "ourá," tail). It replaced the native Old English word "ācweorna."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/squirrel (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).