Etymology, Origin And Meaning Of Chipmunk By Etymonline

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Origin and history of chipmunk

chipmunk(n.)

"small striped squirrel of eastern North America," 1829 (also chitmunk, 1832), from Algonquian, probably Ojibwa ajidamoo (in the Ottawa dialect ajidamoonh) "red squirrel," literally "head first," or "one who descends trees headlong" (containing ajid- "upside down"), probably influenced by English chip and mink. Other early names for it included ground squirrel and striped squirrel.

also from 1829

Entries linking to chipmunk

chip(v.)

early 15c., "to break off in small pieces" (intransitive, of stone); from Old English forcippian "to pare away by cutting, cut off," verbal form of cipp "small piece of wood" (see chip (n.1)).

Transitive meaning "to cut up, cut or trim into small pieces, diminish by cutting away a little at a time" is from late 15c. Sense of "break off fragments" is 18c. Related: Chipped; chipping. To chip in "contribute" (1861) is American English, perhaps from card-playing; but compare chop in "interrupt by remarking" (1540s). Chipped beef attested from 1826.

mink(n.)

early 15c., "skin or fur of the (European) mink," from a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish menk "a stinking animal in Finland"). Applied in English to the animal itself from 1620s, and extended to the related (but larger) animal of North America by Capt. John Smith (1624). Related: Minkery "an establishment where minks are bred and trained for ratting" (by 1862, American English).

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squirrel"agile, active arboreal rodent with pointed ears and a long, bushy tail," early 14c. (late 12c. as a surname), from Anglo-French esquirel, Old French escurueil "squirrel; squirrel fur" (Modern French écureuil), from Vulgar Latin *scuriolus, diminutive of *scurius "squirrel," varigroundOld English grund "bottom; foundation; surface of the earth," also "abyss, Hell," and "bottom of the sea" (a sense preserved in run aground), from Proto-Germanic *grundu-, which seems to have meant "deep place" (source also of Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Danish, Swedish grund, Dutch consequencelate 14c., "logical inference, conclusion," from Old French consequence "result" (13c., Modern French conséquence), from Latin consequentia, abstract noun from present-participle stem of consequi "to follow after," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + sequi sanctuaryearly 14c., seintuarie, sentwary, etc., "consecrated place, building set apart for holy worship; holy or sacred object," from Anglo-French sentuarie, Old French saintuaire "sacred relic, holy thing; reliquary, sanctuary," from Late Latin sanctuarium "a sacred place, shrine" (espeuncanny1590s, in a now-obsolete meaning "mischievous, malicious;" also in 17c., "careless, incautious; unreliable, not to be trusted," from un- (1) "not" + canny (q.v.) in its old Scots and Northern English sense of "skillful, prudent, lucky" (it is a doublet of cunning). Canny had alsomoneymid-13c., monie, "funds, means, anything convertible into money;" c. 1300, "coinage, coin, metal currency," from Old French monoie "money, coin, currency; change" (Modern French monnaie), from Latin moneta "place for coining money, mint; coined money, money, coinage," from Monetatanglemid-14c., tanglen, "encumber, enmesh, knit together confusedly," a shortening of entangle in some cases, in others probably a nasalized variant of tagilen "to involve in a difficult situation, entangle," from a Scandinavian source (compare dialectal Swedish taggla "to disorder," boltOld English bolt "short, stout arrow with a heavy head;" also "crossbow for throwing bolts," from Proto-Germanic *bultas (source also of Old Norse bolti, Danish bolt, Dutch bout, German Bolzen), perhaps originally "arrow, missile," and from PIE *bheld- "to knock, strike" (source conversionmid-14c., originally of religion, "a radical and complete change in spirit, purpose, and direction of life away from sin and toward love of God," from Old French conversion "change, transformation, entry into religious life; way of life, behavior; dwelling, residence; sexual intedimensionlate 14c., dimensioun, "measurable extent, magnitude measured along a diameter," from Latin dimensionem (nominative dimensio) "a measuring," noun of action from past-participle stem of dimetri "to measure out," from dis- (see dis-) + metiri "to measure," from PIE root *me- (2) "t

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/chipmunkCopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/chipmunk">Etymology of chipmunk by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of chipmunk. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/chipmunkCopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of chipmunk," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed February 23, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/chipmunk.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of chipmunk." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/chipmunk. Accessed 23 February, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of chipmunk." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/chipmunk (accessed February 23, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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