gerbil meaning: definition, etymology

gerbil

noun

US /ˈd͡ʒɝbl̩/ · UK /ˈdʒɜːbl̩/

Etymology From French gerbille, from Latin gerbo, from Arabic جَرْبُوع (jarbūʕ) or يَرْبُوع (yarbūʕ, “jerboa”). Doublet of jerboa.

A member of one of several species of small, jumping, mouselike rodents of the subfamily Gerbillinae, native to Africa, India, and Southern Europe.

Derived terms: 34 terms
Anderson's gerbil, antigerbil, black-tailed gerbil, Boehm's gerbil, Burton's gerbil, bushy-tailed hairy-footed gerbil, Cape short-eared gerbil, Cheesman's gerbil, dune hairy-footed gerbil, Emin's gerbil, fat-tailed gerbil, Flower's gerbil, fringe-tailed gerbil, gerbilarium, gerbilectomy, hairy-footed gerbil, Harrington's gerbil, Harwood's gerbil, Hoogstraal's gerbil, Indian gerbil, James's gerbil, Kemp's gerbil, lesser short-tailed gerbil, Mackilligin's gerbil, Mauritanian gerbil, midday gerbil, Mongolian gerbil, Namib brush-tailed gerbil, Petter's gerbil, Phillip's gerbil, Przewalski's gerbil, tamarisk gerbil, Tarabul's gerbil, Wagner's gerbil

verb

Etymology From French gerbille, from Latin gerbo, from Arabic جَرْبُوع (jarbūʕ) or يَرْبُوع (yarbūʕ, “jerboa”). Doublet of jerboa.

To rotate inside a monowheel or similar apparatus due to sudden acceleration or braking.

Slang To insert a small animal (typically a gerbil, supposedly) into one's rectum (a sexual practice in urban myth).