chickaree

chickaree

English

Etymology

Onomatopoeia from its cry; compare chickadee.

Noun

chickaree (plural chickarees)

1. (Canada, US) A small squirrel, one of the species of Tamiasciurus, that lives in evergreen forests of North America.
   • 1864, Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods:

     We heard the sound of the chickaree

Usage notes

• The name was first applied to the eastern species of Tamiasciurus, T. hudsonicus, but is now more often used for the western T. douglasii.

Translations

small squirrel

Finnish: punaorava (T. hudsonicus); lännenpunaorava (T. douglasii)

References

• James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928), “Chickaree”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume II (C), London: Clarendon Press, OCLC 15566697, page 336, column 2.