Squirrel

Squirrel
Recorded in the spellings of Scurrel, Scurrell, Squirl, Squirrel, and Squirrell, this is an English surname, but probably of French origins. The early medieval period around the 12th and 13th centuries saw the formation of hereditary surnames, and many of these resulted from what can best be described as nicknames. It is estimated that as much as 20% of all surnames are or were nicknames, and these resulted from supposed characteristics of the nameholder. These were often concerned with the persons occupation, as well as physical attributes or even deformities. In this case the nickname was one given to a careful or thrifty person, one who stored things away for a rainy day, although it may have been, as with Geoffrey le Esquerel, in the charters known as the "Hundred Rolls" of Suffolk, in 1275, a job description for a storekeeper or similar. The derivation is from the Olde French word "esquirel", which does mean "squirrel" and it seems that the word was probably introduced into Britain in the 7th century. Early examples of the surname recording include William Scurell of Norfolk, in the year 1230, and Peter Squirel of Yorkshire, in the Subsidy Rolls of that county in 1301. The first known recording, and one of the earliest of all surname recordings anywhere in the world, is that of Ralph Squrel, in the Assize Rolls of Warwick, in the year 1221.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Squirrel — Squir rel (skw[ e]r r[e^]l or skw[i^]r ; 277), n. [OE. squirel, OF. esquirel, escurel, F. [ e]cureuil, LL. squirelus, squirolus, scuriolus, dim. of L. sciurus, Gr. si oyros; skia shade + o yra tail. Cf. {Shine}, v. i.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any one of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Squirrel — Класс языка: мультипарадигменный Тип исполнения: интерпретируемый, JIT Появился в: 2003 Автор(ы): Альберто Демичелис Релиз: 3.0.3 (19 июня 2012) Испыт …   Википедия

  • squirrel — early 14c., from Anglo Fr. esquirel, O.Fr. escurel (Fr. écureuil), from V.L. *scuriolus, dim. of *scurius squirrel, variant of L. sciurus, from Gk. skiouros a squirrel, lit. shadow tailed, from skia shadow (see SHINE (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • squirrel — [skwʉr′əl, skwʉrl] n. pl. squirrels or squirrel [ME squirel < OFr escuriuel < VL * scuriolus, dim. of * scurius, for L sciurus < Gr skiouros, squirrel < skia, shadow (see SHINE) + oura, tail: see URO 2] 1. any of a family (Sciuridae)… …   English World dictionary

  • Squirrel — (engl.: Hörnchen) bezeichnet: den SQuirreL SQL Client die Programmiersprache Squirrel (Programmiersprache) Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • squirrel — ► NOUN ▪ an agile tree dwelling rodent with a bushy tail, typically feeding on nuts and seeds. ► VERB (squirrelled, squirrelling; US also squirreled, squirreling) 1) (squirrel away) hide (money or valuables) in a safe place. 2) …   English terms dictionary

  • Squirrel — Taxobox name = Squirrel image width = 250px image caption = Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Mammalia ordo = Rodentia familia = Sciuridae subdivision ranks = Genera subdivision = Many, see… …   Wikipedia

  • squirrel — squirrelish, squirrellike, adj. /skwerr euhl, skwur / or, esp. Brit., /skwir euhl/, n., pl. squirrels, (esp. collectively) squirrel, v., squirreled, squirreling or (esp. Brit.) squirrelled, squirrelling. n. 1. any of numerous arboreal, bushy… …   Universalium

  • squirrel — n. & v. n. 1 any rodent of the family Sciuridae, e.g. the red squirrel, grey squirrel, etc., often of arboreal habits, with a bushy tail arching over its back, and pointed ears. 2 the fur of this animal. 3 a person who hoards objects, food, etc.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • squirrel — I. noun (plural squirrels; also squirrel) Etymology: Middle English squirel, from Anglo French escurel, esquirel, from Vulgar Latin *scuriolus, diminutive of scurius, alteration of Latin sciurus, from Greek skiouros, probably from skia shadow +… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Squirrel — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Squirrel peut faire référence à : Squirrel (langage de programmation), un langage de programmation orienté objet Squirrel (beurre de cacahuètes), une …   Wikipédia en Français

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