meadow vole
- noun
- /ˈmɛdoʊ voʊl/
- US
:
topo de pradera
- In late spring, the meadow vole can be spotted building nests in the dense grasslands.
- meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)
Examples
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And meadow voles, by excluding white-footed mice from some habitats, may reduce the risk of Lyme disease, which is carried by ticks that feed off (and are infected by) these mice.
Academic text (2002) -
While meadow voles rarely leave grassy fields to enter forests, white-footed mice are generalists, preferring forests but frequenting old fields as well.
Academic text (2002) -
The population size of meadow voles was assessed in the old-field habitat patches, which were created by mowing the surrounding vegetation.
Academic text (1997) -
Of the roughly 120 species of voles worldwide, about a dozen are notorious for their boom-and-bust population fluctuations; one of these is the meadow vole.
Academic text (2002) -
The tastes of two smart rodents—the meadow vole and the white-footed mouse—can determine what trees grow in a forest.
Academic text (2002) -
S (COLOR): The white-footed mouse, left, and the meadow vole, below, reproduce frequently and prolifically, adaptations that help keep them a step ahead of their many predators.
Academic text (2002) -
A bit of detective work revealed the unexpected culprits: meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), small herbivorous rodents that are ubiquitous in North American old fields.
Academic text (2002) -
The meadow vole is often seen foraging for food among the grass in the meadows of northern North America.
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Researchers observed that the meadow vole has a stocky body and a short tail, which helps it thrive in its habitat.
Synonyms
11
6.3
A small animal like a mouse with a short tail that lives in fields and meadows
A small animal like a mouse that lives in grassy fields
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound's meaning is directly compositional: 'vole' denotes a small rodent and 'meadow' specifies its typical habitat, so 'meadow vole' means a vole found in meadows. This noun–noun compounding is a standard, transparent pattern in English (and similar in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Meadow vole comes from a simple picture: a small rodent living in a meadow. The word meadow shows its grassy home and vole names a tiny, round-bodied rodent, so the term means 'a small rodent found in grasslands'.