This week’s theme
Words coined after animals

This week’s words
reptilian
eager beaver
testudinal
weasel
big fish

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ee-guhr BEE-vuhr)

MEANING:

noun: One who is enthusiastic and hard-working, sometimes to the point of being overzealous.

ETYMOLOGY:

From eager, from Old French egre, from Latin acer (sharp) + beaver, from Old English beofor. Earliest documented use: 1942.

NOTES:

Originally, the term eager beaver was military slang, used for especially dedicated cadets in an aviation school, but the term’s roots go back further. The expression “to work like a beaver” (to work hard) has been with us since at least 1741, reflecting the animal’s reputation for industriousness. Looking at the massive dams beavers construct, the reputation is entirely justified. It also helps that the words eager and beaver rhyme.

USAGE:

“He was surprised when he met the head of security in the lobby and learned that the building was not as empty as he had anticipated. One eager beaver, as the man put it, was still plugging away on the sixth floor at almost nine o’clock at night. That eager beaver was Serena Van Buren.”
Judy Angelo; Tamed by the Billionaire; Phoenix Publishing; 2016.

See more usage examples of eager beaver in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: