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lemming

  (lĕm'ĭng) pronunciation
n.

Any of various small, thickset rodents, especially of the genus Lemmus, inhabiting northern regions and known for periodic mass migrations that sometimes end in drowning.

[Norwegian, from Old Norse læmingi, læmingr.]


 
 

Any of several species of small rodents belonging to the family Cricetidae and found primarily in northern temperate and polar regions of North America and Eurasia. Lemmings have short legs, small ears, and long, soft fur. They are 4 – 7 in. (10 – 18 cm) long, including the stumpy tail, and are grayish or reddish brown above, paler below. They feed on roots, shoots, and grasses and live in burrows or rock crevices. They are noted for regular population fluctuations, and for their periodic migrations in spring and fall. Those of the Norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus) are the most dramatic, because many of the migrants drown in the sea. However, lemmings are hesitant to enter water and, contrary to legend, do not plunge into the sea in a deliberate death march.

For more information on lemming, visit Britannica.com.

 
name for several species of mouselike rodents related to the voles. All live in arctic or northern regions, inhabiting tundra or open meadows. They frequently nest in underground burrows, particularly in winter, although they do not hibernate. They feed on grasses, mosses, and roots, and probably on insects. All are about 5 in. (13 cm) long, with stout bodies, thick fluffy fur, small ears, very short tails, and long claws. The brown to black Norway lemming, Lemmus lemmus, of Scandinavia, is the best known, because of its spectacular periodic swarming. Two or three times per decade, this species undergoes a population explosion of such proportions that the lemmings set out in all directions in search of food. They cross bodies of water by swimming and occasionally some reach and enter the ocean, where they drown. This behavior has given rise to folklore about lemmings committing mass suicide, but the population crashes mainly because lemming predators increase in number in response. Other species of the genus Lemmus are found in the northern portions of Eurasia and North America and sometimes exhibit similar swarmings. The snow, or collard, lemmings, Dicrostonyx, found in the arctic regions of Asia and North America, are pure white in winter and brown, gray, or reddish in summer; this color change is unique among rodents. They are also distinguished by the growth in winter of an extremely long two-pronged claw on the third and fourth finger of each forefoot; these claws may function in shoveling snow. Bog lemmings, members of the genus Synaptus, are found in marshy places in North America as far south as the N United States. The wood lemming, Myopus schisticolor, is found in N Eurasia. The steppe lemmings, members of the genus Lagarus, of S Russia and Mongolia, are properly classified as voles; the North American species of this genus, Lagarus curtatus, is found in the W United States and is known as the sagebrush vole. Lemmings are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, family Cricetidae. See mouse.


 

Small, nocturnal rodent that conducts mass migrations every few years. Called also Lemmus lemmus.

 
Translations: Translations for: Lemming

Dansk (Danish)
n. - lemming

Nederlands (Dutch)
lemming

Français (French)
n. - lemming

Deutsch (German)
n. - Lemming

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ.) λέμμος ο νορβηγικός

Italiano (Italian)
lemmo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - lemo (m) (Zool.)

Русский (Russian)
лемминг

Español (Spanish)
n. - ratón campestre

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fjällämmel

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
旅鼠

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 旅鼠

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 나그네 쥐

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - レミング

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) اللاموس, , ضرب من القوارض قصير الذيل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮למינג (מכרסם קטן)‬


 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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