gopher
noun /ˈɡəʊfə(r)/
/ˈɡəʊfər/
- a North American animal like a rat, that lives in holes in the groundTopics Animalsc2
- (North American English) (also ground squirrel British and North American English)a type of squirrel that lives in holes in the ground
- (also gofer)(informal) a person whose job is to do small boring tasks for other people, especially in an office or on a film set
Word Originlate 18th cent.: perhaps from Canadian French gaufre ‘honeycomb’ (because the gopher “honeycombs” the ground with its burrows).