DCHP-1 Online

weenusk < Algonk.; cf. Cree wénusk

• a large burrowing rodent, Marmota monax, common in eastern and central Canada.

  See also: groundhog (def. 1)  

  • 1754  (1787)  The Wenusk, or Quebec Marmot, feeds on coarse grass.
  • 1784  (1954)  The Comparative of Furrs &c to Beaver The Standard . . . Weenusk [Skins] 2 [as] 1 [beaver].
  • 1897  . . . the following list [shows] the catch for onr season in and about Cumberland House: . . . Otter 424, Wolverine 175, Weenisk 1.
  • 1933  it was into one of these holes that the weenusk scuttled as I made my exit. . . .