dormouse

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small Old World rodent with a furry tail that hibernates or becomes torpid in cold weather

   A dormouse slept through the winter in a nest of leaves.

2. 2
   noun

   a person who sleeps a great deal or readily falls asleep

   After the long journey, he became a dormouse by the fire.

Simplified etymology

Dormouse dates from late Middle English, but its exact development is uncertain. It is thought to reflect a lost French name meaning something like “sleepy” or “inclined to be dormant,” ultimately from Latin dormire, “to sleep,” which English speakers later reinterpreted as containing mouse.

From Middle English dormowse, of uncertain origin. The second element was understood as mouse, while the first may be related to an old word meaning numb or dormant; the familiar association with French dormir, 'to sleep,' is probably secondary.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary