a small European or American animal that lives in holes in the ground 旱獭，土拨鼠（居于地穴，分布于欧洲及美洲） Word Originearly 17th cent.: from French marmotte, probably via Romansch (a Romance language spoken in Switzerland) murmont from late Latin mus montanus ‘mountain mouse’; compare with French marmotter ‘mutter through the teeth’.