lemming
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
lemming/ˈlemɪŋ/
▶noun
- 1 a short-tailed, thickset Arctic rodent, noted for fluctuating populations and periodic mass migrations. [Lemmus lemmus and other species.]
- 2 a person who unthinkingly joins a mass rush to destruction.
– origin C18: from Norw. and Dan.; rel. to ON lómundr.
'lemming' also found in these Oxford entries:
