sciurus

See also: Sciurus

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros, “squirrel”), from σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”).

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [skiˈuː.rʊs]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ʃiˈuː.rus]

Noun

sciūrus m (genitive sciūrī); second declension

squirrel

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	sciūrus	sciūrī
genitive	sciūrī	sciūrōrum
dative	sciūrō	sciūrīs
accusative	sciūrum	sciūrōs
ablative	sciūrō	sciūrīs
vocative	sciūre	sciūrī

Descendants

The descendants (except for Romanian and Sardinian) reflect a metathesized form *scūrius, usually as a diminutive *scūriolus (Western) or *scuriattus (Central).

Descendants

⇒ Aragonese: esquiruelo
⇒ Asturian: esquilu
⇒ Corsican: scurriolu, scurrichjolu, currachjolu; scoiattulu, scuiattulu
→ Esperanto: sciuro
⇒ Franco-Provençal: ècurél
⇒ Friulian: sghirate, sghirat
⇒ Galician: esquío
⇒ Italian: scoiattolo
⇒ Ladin: schirata
⇒ Lombard: sghiratt, sghiràt, schiràt
⇒ Old French: escurel, escureul, escuirel
- Anglo-Norman: esquirel
  - → Middle English: squirel, squyrelle, squerel, scurelle, squerell, scurelle, squyrell
    - English: squirrel
      - → Ido: skurelo
      - → Maltese: skwiril, squiril, skwirill
- French: écureuil
- Gallo: étchuro
- Norman: êtchutheu (Jersey)
⇒ Old Occitan:
- Catalan: esquirol
- Occitan: esquiròl, esquirò (Aranese), esquiròu (Gascony, Provençal), esquiròu
⇒ Piedmontese: schërieul
⇒ Portuguese: esquilo
Romanian: știur
⇒ Romansch: stgilat
Sardinian: isbirru
⇒ Sardinian: schirrittu, schirrimatta; iscojàttulu
⇒ Sicilian: scuiàttulu, scujàttulu
- → Maltese: skojjattlu, skojattlu
⇒ Spanish: esquilo
→ Translingual: Sciurus
⇒ Venetan: schirato, schirat

References

“sciurus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
sciurus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.