harvest mouse
harvest mouse Lexical Profile
• noun
A very small, agile rodent (Micromys minutus) native to Europe and Asia, characterized by its prehensile tail and its unique habit of weaving spherical nests of grass in tall vegetation such as reeds or cereal crops.
"The photographer waited patiently in the meadow to capture an image of a Eurasian harvest mouse clinging delicately to an ear of wheat."
North American Any of various small, brownish rodents of the genus Reithrodontomys native to North and Central America, typically found in grassy habitats where they forage for seeds and insects.
"During the ecological survey of the tallgrass prairie, the researchers humanely trapped and released several western harvest mice to estimate the local population."
Word Nuance & Usage
The common name 'harvest mouse' refers to completely different, unrelated genera of rodents depending on the continent (Micromys in Eurasia and Reithrodontomys in the Americas).
Word Origin & Etymology
A compound of 'harvest' and 'mouse', so named because these small rodents were frequently observed by farm workers in fields of cereal crops during the autumn harvest.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.