woodchuck

Borrowed from Cree ocêk, otchek (“fisher”), borrowed from Ojibwe ojiig (“fisher, marten”), or a similar term in a related Algonquian language, subsequently reapplied to the groundhog.

An earlier form of this word, woodshock, still sometimes designated the marten.

• IPA^(key): /ˈwʊd.tʃʌk/

woodchuck (plural woodchucks)

1. A rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots, Marmota monax.

• (rodent of the family Sciuridae): groundhog, whistle pig, land-beaver, moonack