dormouse
Any of several species of small, mostly European rodents of the family .
Definitions
UK
#1·Apr 27, 2026UK
Any of several species of small, mostly European rodents of the family .
For a long time the dormouse and polecat had seemed to him overfeeble enemies for his restless valour, even as the granary floor seemed to afford too narrow a field. Every day he read the papers of the previous day in the servants' hall …
Origin: From , of uncertain origin. Possibly from a dialectal *dor-, from + mouse. More at doze, mouse. The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an derivative of (as tending to be dormant, with second element mistaken for mouse), but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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UK
#2·Apr 27, 2026UK
(figuratively) A person who sleeps a great deal, or who falls asleep readily (by analogy with the sound hibernation of the dormouse).
For a long time the dormouse and polecat had seemed to him overfeeble enemies for his restless valour, even as the granary floor seemed to afford too narrow a field. Every day he read the papers of the previous day in the servants' hall …
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Other words near "dormouse" (D)
dorkfacedorkifydorkwaddorkweedDormant Commerce ClausedormcestdormyDorothyDorothy dollardorpdorpiedort
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