Burrower

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An organism that sculpts subterranean passages for living quarters or food supplies
2. A living being that carves out underground channels for dwelling purposes or to find sustenance
3. An animal or organism that creates underground tunnels for shelter or to access food sources

Etymology: A burrower is simply a burrow with the agent suffix attached. "Burrow" is the older root here, and "-er" is the ending that turns a verb or noun into a word for someone or something that performs an action. So a burrower is the thing that burrows, a creature that digs its way into the ground to make a home. The suffix has a longer lineage than the base word. The "-er" ending traces back through Old English "-ere" and Middle English "-ere" and "-er", and beyond that to Latin "-arius" (a suffix meaning one connected with or doing something), which reached English by way of Old French "-ier". Those same Latin roots also gave English many professional nouns such as "barber" and "butler," so the ending has been doing this job for centuries.

Synonyms: digger