dormouse

== English == === Alternative forms === doormouse (misspelling) === Etymology === From Middle English dormowse, of uncertain origin. Possibly from a dialectal *dor-, from Old Norse dár (“benumbed”) + mous (“mouse”). More at doze, mouse. The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of Old French dormir (“to sleep”) (as *dormouse (“tending to be dormant”), with second element mistaken for mouse), but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed. === Pronunciation === (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɔɹ.maʊs/ (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdɔː.maʊs/ Rhymes: -aʊs === Noun === dormouse (plural dormice) Any of several species of small, mostly European rodents of the family Gliridae. Glis glis (edible dormouse). (UK) Muscardinus avellanarius (hazel dormouse). (figuratively) A person who sleeps a great deal, or who falls asleep readily (by analogy with the sound hibernation of the dormouse). ==== Synonyms ==== glirid ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === dormouse on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Gliridae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies Category:Gliridae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons