DOTLAN EveMaps

u'1325\u201375; Middle English squirel < Anglo-French escuirel (Old French escuireul) \u226a Vulgar Latin *sc\u016brellus, *sc\u016briolus, representing Latin sciurus (< Greek sk\xedouros literally, shadow-tailed (ski(\xe1) shadow + -ouros, adj. derivative of our\xe1 tail); apparently so called because the tail was large enough to provide shade for the rest of the animal) with diminutive suffixes -ellus, -olus'