English Explanatory Dictionary

weasel

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.
  2. A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).
  3. Any of certain other species of the family Mustelidae.
  4. A devious or sneaky person or animal.
  5. A type of yarn winder used for counting the yardage of handspun yarn. It most commonly has a wooden peg or dowel that pops up from the gearing mechanism after a certain number of yards have been wound onto the winder.
verb
  1. To achieve by clever or devious means.
  2. To gain something for oneself by clever or devious means.
  3. To engage in clever or devious behavior.

Pronunciation

/ˈwiːz(ə)l/ wēʹzəl wēzʹl /ˈwizəl/ /ˈwizl̩/ en-us-weasel.ogg

Word forms

weasel weasels weazel weazle weaseling weaselling weaseled weaselled

Etymology

From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ. The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel.

Synonyms

mustela

Related words

weasel into weasel one's way weasel out ferret mink polecat stoat

Derived words

chalk-eating weasel honey weasel weasel clause weasel war dance weasel-faced weasel-like IceWeasel weasel cat weasel coot weasel duck weasel-headed armadillo weasel lemur weaselly weasely weasel spider weasel word wild weasel African striped weasel Altai weasel Amazon weasel back-striped weasel Bonaparte's weasel bridled weasel Colombian weasel common weasel dwarf weasel Egyptian weasel Japanese weasel least weasel little weasel long-tailed weasel Malacca weasel Malay weasel Malayan weasel mountain weasel New York weasel pale weasel Patagonian weasel pygmy weasel short-tailed weasel Siberian weasel snake weasel stripe-backed weasel tiger weasel Tonkin weasel vison weasel white weasel yellow weasel yellow-bellied weasel

Translations

Belarusian: ла́ска Catalan: visó Chinese Mandarin: 鼬鼠 Esperanto: mustelo Esperanto: virmustelo Esperanto: mustelino Finnish: kärppä West-Frisian: marter German: Wiesel Ancient Greek: γαλέη Ancient Greek: γαλῆ Hungarian: menyét Indonesian: cerpelai Irish: easóg Latvian: sermulis Latvian: zebiekste Māori: wītara Māori: wīhara Māori: tori uaroa Middle English: wesele Navajo: dlǫ́ʼii Plautdietsch: Elkj Portuguese: doninha Quechua: achuqalla Russian: ла́ска Scottish Gaelic: neas Ukrainian: ла́ска Ukrainian: ла́сиця Volapük: visaf Finnish: huiputtaa Finnish: kieroilla
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