weasel

Meaning

Noun

1. Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.
2. A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).
3. Any of certain other species of the family Mustelidae.
4. (derogatory, informal) A devious or sneaky person or animal.
5. A type of yarn winder used for counting the yardage of handspun yarn. It most commonly has a wooden peg or dowel that pops up from the gearing mechanism after a certain number of yards have been wound onto the winder.

Verb

1. (transitive) To achieve by clever or devious means.
2. (reflexive, transitive) To gain something for oneself by clever or devious means.
3. (intransitive) To engage in clever or devious behavior.

Synonyms

ferret

mink

marten

ermine

fake

finagler

fox

🦊

fraud

goldbrick

impersonator

imposter

jill

least weasel

martial

phony

polecat

ringer

scammer

shark

🦈

sneak

snitch

spiv

stoat

swindler

two-timer

utterer

welcher

welsher

wolverine

cunning person

shammer

ganef

sandbagger

slinker

kind of bird

Mustela erminea

clip artist

ganof

gonif

goniff

mustelid

musteline

musteline mammal

sharpy

charlatan

European common weasel

cheat

cheater

con man

Translations

Wiesel

donnola

comadreja

belette

wezel

νυφίτσα

doninha

Putorius

mostela

mustela

gelincik

mostèla

Mauswiesel

marter

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈwiːz(ə)l/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: wesele

Inherited from Old English: weosule

In summary

From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ.
The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel.