Mar"mot (?), n. [It. marmotta, marmotto, prob. fr. L. mus montanus, or mus montis, lit., mountain mouse or rat. See Mountain, and Mouse.]
1. Zool.
Any rodent of the genus Arctomys. The common European marmot (A. marmotta) is about the size of a rabbit, and inhabits the higher regions of the Alps and Pyrenees. The bobac is another European species. The common American species (A. monax) is the woodchuck.
<-- related to the woodchuck, (groundhog) but usually used only for the western variety -->
2.
Any one of several species of ground squirrels or gophers of the genus Spermophilus; also, the prairie dog.
Marmot squirrel Zool., a ground squirrel or spermophile. -- Prairie marmot. See Prairie dog.
© Webster 1913.