dormouse [dawr-mous] ExamplesWord Origin noun, plural dor·mice [dawr-mahys] /ˈdɔrˌmaɪs/.
- any small, furry-tailed, Old World rodent of the family Gliridae, resembling small squirrels in appearance and habits.
Origin of dormouse 1400–50; late Middle English dormowse, dormoise; etymology obscure; perhaps AF derivative of Old French dormir to sleep (see dormant), with final syllable reanalyzed as mouse, but no such AF word is known Examples from the Web for dormice Historical Examples of dormice
And to tell the truth, it was not often he got a chance of petting his big brother’s dormice.
Mrs. Molesworth
Zelinda and her father were so weary that they slept like dormice all night.
Thomas Frederick Crane
Youre the one who makes them sick, making them sleep like dormice.
My Neighbor Raymond (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XI)
Charles Paul de Kock
The gardener assured me it was the dormice which eat it all.
The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau, Complete
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Hedgehogs and dormice and butterflies and sandboys, all in a breath.
Mrs. Molesworth
British Dictionary definitions for dormice dormouse noun plural -mice
- any small Old World rodent of the family Gliridae, esp the Eurasian Muscardinus avellanarius, resembling a mouse with a furry tail
Word Origin for dormouse C15: dor-, perhaps from Old French dormir to sleep, from Latin dormīre + mouse Word Origin and History for dormice dormouse n.
early 15c., possibly from Anglo-French *dormouse “tending to be dormant” (from stem of dormir “to sleep,” see dormer), with the second element mistaken for mouse; or perhaps it is from a Middle English dialectal compound of mouse and Middle French dormir. The rodent is inactive in winter. French dormeuse, fem. of dormeur “sleeper” is attested only from 17c.