weasel
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ
Proto-West Germanic *wisulā
Old English weosule
Middle English wēsele
English weasel
From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ.
The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel.
Inflected forms:
form: weasels
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: weazel
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: weazle
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: weasels
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: weaseling
pos: verb
tags: US
participle
present
form: weaselling
pos: verb
tags: UK
participle
present
form: weaseled
pos: verb
tags: US
participle
past
form: weaseled
pos: verb
tags: US
past
form: weaselled
pos: verb
tags: UK
participle
past
form: weaselled
pos: verb
tags: UK
past
form: weazel
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: weazle
pos: verb
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.
pos: noun
examples: An old traditional prescription for provoking erotic inclinations ran as follows, The toe of the foot of a man, anointed with oil, or honey, or the ashes of a weasel.
gloss: A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).
pos: noun
gloss: Any of certain other species of the family Mustelidae.
pos: noun
gloss: A devious or sneaky person or animal.
pos: noun
tags: derogatory
informal
examples: Once you've gone beyond the scripted speeches, soundbites and cliches, you'll notice how the debate about leadership is primarily divided between the three governors and two senators, the other two weasels, Donald Trump and Ben Carson notwithstanding.
gloss: A type of yarn winder used for counting the yardage of handspun yarn; spinner's weasel. It most commonly has a wooden peg or dowel that pops up from the gearing mechanism after a certain number of yards have been wound onto the winder.
pos: noun
gloss: To achieve by clever or devious means.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Prisoners are notorious for weaseling day passes to get out of lockup […] .
gloss: To gain something for oneself by clever or devious means.
pos: verb
tags: reflexive
transitive
examples: He's weaseled himself into a position where he can influence the outcome of this election.
Within just a couple of days, she [a dog] had weaseled her way into our hearts.
gloss: To engage in clever or devious behavior.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Authority figures have a history of weaseling on this topic.
Related words: weasel into
weasel one's way
weasel out
ferret
mink
polecat
stoat
Derived words: chalk-eating weasel
honey weasel
weasel clause
weasel war dance
weasel-faced
weasel-like
weasel cat
weasel coot
weasel duck
weasel-headed armadillo
weasel lemur
weaselly
weasely
weasel spider
weasel word
wild weasel
Translations:
lang: Belarusian
word: ла́ска
roman: láska
lang: Catalan
word: visó
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 鼬鼠
roman: yòushǔ
lang: Esperanto
word: mustelo
lang: Esperanto
word: virmustelo
lang: Esperanto
word: mustelino
lang: Esperanto
word: mustelo
lang: Finnish
word: kärppä
lang: West-Frisian
word: marter
lang: German
word: Wiesel
lang: Ancient Greek
word: γαλέη
roman: galéē
lang: Ancient Greek
word: γαλῆ
roman: galê
lang: Hungarian
word: menyét
lang: Indonesian
word: cerpelai
lang: Irish
word: easóg
lang: Latvian
word: sermulis
lang: Latvian
word: zebiekste
lang: Māori
word: wītara
lang: Māori
word: wīhara
lang: Māori
word: tori uaroa
lang: Middle English
word: wesele
lang: Navajo
word: dlǫ́ʼii
lang: Plautdietsch
word: Elkj
lang: Portuguese
word: doninha
lang: Quechua
word: achuqalla
lang: Russian
word: ла́ска
roman: láska
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: neas
lang: Ukrainian
word: ла́ска
roman: láska
lang: Ukrainian
word: ла́сиця
roman: lásycja
lang: Volapük
word: visaf
lang: Finnish
word: huiputtaa
lang: Finnish
word: kieroilla