Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Gopher

Go′pher (gō′ẽr), n. [F. gaufre waffle, honeycomb. See Gauffer.] (Zoöl.) 1. One of several North American burrowing rodents of the genera Geomys and Thomomys, of the family Geomyidæ; — called also pocket gopher and pouched rat. See Pocket gopher, and Tucan.

☞ The name was originally given by French settlers to many burrowing rodents, from their honeycombing the earth.

2. One of several western American species of the genus Spermophilus, of the family Sciuridæ; as, the gray gopher (Spermophilus Franklini) and the striped gopher (S. tridecemlineatus); — called also striped prairie squirrel, leopard marmot, and leopard spermophile. See Spermophile.

3. A large land tortoise (Testudo Carilina) of the Southern United States, which makes extensive burrows.

4. A large burrowing snake (Spilotes Couperi) of the Southern United States.

Gopher drift (Mining), an irregular prospecting drift, following or seeking the ore without regard to regular grade or section. Raymond.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.