Squir'rel, n.

(skwĭr'rel, or skwŭr'rel) (Synop., § 130), n. [O. Fr. esquirel, escurel, escureil, escuriel, escurill, escurol, escuroil, N. Fr. écureuil, L. Lat. squirelus, squirolus, esquirolus, scuriolus, dim. of Lat. sciurus, Gr. σκίουρος, from σκιά, shade, and οὐρά, tail; Pr. escurol, Sp. & Pg. esquilo, It. scojattolo.] (Zoöl.) A small, rodent mammal, of the genus Sciurus, having a bushy tail, and very nimble in running and leaping on trees.

☞ The common European species is S. vulgaris; the common gray and black squirrel of the Eastern United States is S. Carolinensis; the red squirrel of the United States is S. Hudsonius. The ground squirrels belong to the related genus Spermophilus, and the flying squirrel to the genus Pteromys. The flying-squirrel common in the United States is P. volucella, and another species (P. Hudsonius) occurs at the north. Squirrels subsist chiefly upon nuts, of which they lay up a store for winter.