Etymology

badger

Bad·ger
B3A1D2G2E1R1

Today it means: Any member of species of the genera Meles, Arctonyx, Mellivora or Taxidea, of mammals. Full definition →

Middle English bageard
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badger · noun, verb1

  1. Middle English · inherited frombageard“marked by a badge”
  2. English todaybadger

From Middle English bageard (“marked by a badge”), from bage (“badge”), referring to the animal's badge-like white blaze, equivalent to badge + -ard. Displaced earlier brock, from Old English brocc.

badger · noun2

Unknown Possibly from bagger. "Baggier" is cited by the OED in 1467-8.

Badger · noun3

See Badger State.

Badger · proper noun4

  1. Old English · derived from*Bæcg“a personal name”
  2. English todayBadger

From Old English *Bæcg (“a personal name”) + ofer (“hill spur”). The name of the town in Newfoundland likely derives from the surname of one of its first inhabitants.

Badger · noun5

From badger, the animal.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.