'Jumping shrew' definitions:

Definition of 'Jumping shrew'

From: GCIDE
  • Jumping \Jump"ing\, p. a. & vb. n. of Jump, to leap. [1913 Webster]
  • Jumping bean, a seed of a Mexican Euphorbia, containing the larva of a moth (Carpocapsa saltitans). The larva by its sudden movements causes the seed to roll to roll and jump about.
  • Jumping deer (Zool.), a South African rodent ({Pedetes Caffer}), allied to the jerboa.
  • Jumping louse (Zool.), any of the numerous species of plant lice belonging to the family Psyllid[ae], several of which are injurious to fruit trees.
  • Jumping mouse (Zool.), North American mouse ({Zapus Hudsonius}), having a long tail and large hind legs. It is noted for its jumping powers. Called also {kangaroo mouse}.
  • Jumping mullet (Zool.), gray mullet.
  • Jumping shrew (Zool.), any African insectivore of the genus Macroscelides. They are allied to the shrews, but have large hind legs adapted for jumping.
  • Jumping spider (Zool.), spider of the genus Salticus and other related genera; one of the Saltigrad[ae]; -- so called because it leaps upon its prey. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Jumping shrew'

From: GCIDE
  • Shrew \Shrew\, n. [See Shrew, a.]
  • 1. Originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a brawler; a scold. [1913 Webster]
  • A man . . . grudgeth that shrews [i. e., bad men] have prosperity, or else that good men have adversity. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • A man had got a shrew to his wife, and there could be no quiet in the house for her. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. [AS. scre['a]wa; -- so called because supposed to be venomous. ] (Zool.) Any small insectivore of the genus Sorex and several allied genera of the family Sorecidae. In form and color they resemble mice, but they have a longer and more pointed nose. Some of them are the smallest of all mammals. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: The common European species are the house shrew (Crocidura araneus), and the erd shrew ({Sorex vulgaris}) (see under Erd.). In the United States several species of Sorex and Blarina are common, as the broadnosed shrew (Sorex platyrhinus), Cooper's shrew (Sorex Cooperi), and the short-tailed, or mole, shrew (Blarina brevicauda). Th American water, or marsh, shrew (Neosorex palustris), with fringed feet, is less common. The common European water shrews are Crossopus fodiens, and the oared shrew (see under Oared). [1913 Webster]
  • Earth shrew, any shrewlike burrowing animal of the family Centetidae, as the tendrac.
  • Elephant shrew, Jumping shrew, Mole shrew. See under Elephant, Jumping, etc.
  • Musk shrew. See Desman.
  • River shrew, an aquatic West African insectivore (Potamogale velox) resembling a weasel in form and size, but having a large flattened and crested tail adapted for rapid swimming. It feeds on fishes.
  • Shrew mole, a common large North American mole ({Scalops aquaticus}). Its fine, soft fur is gray with iridescent purple tints. [1913 Webster]