# weasel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈwiːz(ə)l/ · frequency rank #22,861

## Definitions
1. Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genera Mustela, Neogale, Poecilogale, and Lyncodon, having a slender body, a long tail and usually a light brown upper coat and light-coloured belly.
2. A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).
3. Any of certain other species of the family Mustelidae.
4. A devious or sneaky person or animal.
5. A type of yarn winder used for counting the yardage of handspun yarn. It most commonly has a wooden peg or dowel that pops up from the gearing mechanism after a certain number of yards have been wound onto the winder.

## Etymology
From Middle English wesele, from Old English weosule, from Proto-West Germanic *wisulā, from Proto-Germanic *wisulǭ.
The verb is from c. 1900, from the supposed cunningness of the weasel.

## Easily confused with
- **weave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weasel-vs-weave)
- **weaver** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weasel-vs-weaver)
- **Wessex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weasel-vs-wessex)
- **weaker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weaker-vs-weasel)
- **weaken** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/weaken-vs-weasel)
- **wearer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wearer-vs-weasel)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ewasel`, `waesel`, `weaesl`, `weasell`, `weasle`, `weassel`, `wesael`, `wweasel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/weasel