Badger

How to spell badger

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce badger

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does badger mean?

1. nounA nocturnal burrowing mammal with a black-and-white striped head and a stocky grey body.
2. verbTo pester or nag someone repeatedly until they respond or give in.

Badger in a sentence

• noun

  A badger dug an enormous sett beneath the hedge.

• verb

  The reporters continued to badger the minister for a statement.

• noun

  The wildlife camera filmed a badger foraging after dark.

• verb

  Customers will badger the support team until the fault is fixed.

Where does badger come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Badger appears in English in the sixteenth century, and the most widely accepted explanation links it to 'badge', a reference to the bold white mark on the animal's forehead, with the agent suffix '-er' added; the creature was, in effect, 'the one with the badge'. Before this name took hold, English speakers called the animal a 'brock', a word of Celtic origin, or a 'bawson'. The verb sense, meaning to pester or nag relentlessly, grew out of the cruel sport of badger-baiting, in which dogs were set to harass a trapped badger; from that brutal pastime came the idea of worrying someone persistently. The spelling is straightforward and phonetic, with the soft 'g' before 'e' giving the familiar 'j' sound. The link to 'badge' is a useful memory hook, since the word is really just that plus '-er'.

How the word is built

• badge (likely from the white badge-like mark on the animal's head)
• -er (noun suffix)