Chipmunk

//ˈt͡ʃɪp.mʌŋk// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of the subtribe Tamiina of small, striped rodents; they are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
  2. 2
    a burrowing ground squirrel of western America and Asia; has cheek pouches and a light and dark stripe running down the body wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To speed up (an audio recording, especially a song), to make the voices high-pitched. transitive

    "The Dipset capo favors breezy, bass-heavy beats instead of chipmunked soul samples to celebrate the 'hood's favorite season."

  2. 2
    To fill (one's mouth or cheeks) with food. transitive

    "Less than a minute to go and she's chewing almost viciously, her stuffed cheeks all chipmunked out like Dizzy Gillespie's in midsolo."

  3. 3
    To stuff (food) into one's mouth or cheeks, sometimes as part of competitive eating. transitive

    "She chipmunked her breakfast into a porcelain cheek."

Etymology

Etymology 1

1832; alteration (influenced by chipping squirrel) of earlier chitmunk, from older Ojibwe ačitamo˙nˀ (“squirrels”) (modern ajidamoo), literally ‘those who descend headlong’, from ačit- (“headfirst, face-down”) (compare modern ajijibizo (“he falls headfirst”), ajidagoojin (“he hangs upside down”)). The English verb developed due to the high-pitched voices of the American puppet and cartoon chipmunks in the group Alvin and the Chipmunks, who later starred in a popular children's TV show in the 1980s.

Etymology 2

1832; alteration (influenced by chipping squirrel) of earlier chitmunk, from older Ojibwe ačitamo˙nˀ (“squirrels”) (modern ajidamoo), literally ‘those who descend headlong’, from ačit- (“headfirst, face-down”) (compare modern ajijibizo (“he falls headfirst”), ajidagoojin (“he hangs upside down”)). The English verb developed due to the high-pitched voices of the American puppet and cartoon chipmunks in the group Alvin and the Chipmunks, who later starred in a popular children's TV show in the 1980s.

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