How the French (USA) language influenced English with the word 'gopher'

'Gopher' is a word borrowed from French (USA) 'gaufre'. The word entered the English language some time around 1791.

gopher [noun] [1791]

• a burrowing land tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) of the southern United States
• any of several related land tortoises
• any of a family (Geomyidae) of burrowing rodents of western North America, Central America, and the southern United Sta...
• any of several small ground squirrels (genus ) of the prairie region of North America

See 'gopher' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from French (USA).

note: May originate from Canadian French 'gaufre' (honeycomb) - the gopher ‘honeycombs’ the ground with its burrows.
Etymology: origin unknown

See more loan words from 1700s.