Woodchuck
/ˈwʊdˌtʃʌk/noun
A North American marmot, also called a groundhog.
Did you know?The familiar word is probably a case of folk etymology: English speakers reshaped an unfamiliar Algonquian name into the recognizable phrase “woodchuck.”
Etymological Timeline
Before the 17th Century
Algonquian
Uncertain Algonquian source
“An Indigenous name for the animal or a related marmot-like creature; the precise source is debated.”
1643
English
woodchuck
“An early English record of the animal’s name in colonial North America.”
17th Century
English
woodchuck
“The form became established after English speakers reshaped the unfamiliar Indigenous term through folk etymology.”
19th Century
English
woodchuck
“The word was widely used alongside “groundhog” for the North American marmot.”
Modern English
English
woodchuck
“The standard common name for Marmota monax, especially in North American English.”