From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Gopher \Go"pher\, n. [F. gaufre waffle, honeycomb. See
{Gauffer}.] (Zool.)
1. One of several North American burrowing rodents of the
genera {Geomys} and {Thomomys}, of the family
{Geomyid[ae]}; -- called also {pocket gopher} and {pouched
rat}. See {Pocket gopher}, and {Tucan}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The name was originally given by French settlers to
many burrowing rodents, from their honeycombing the
earth.
[1913 Webster]
2. One of several western American species of the genus
{Spermophilus}, of the family {Sciurid[ae]}; as, the gray
gopher ({Spermophilus Franklini}) and the striped gopher
({S. tridecemlineatus}); -- called also {striped prairie
squirrel}, {leopard marmot}, and {leopard spermophile}.
See {Spermophile}.
[1913 Webster]
3. A large land tortoise ({Testudo Carilina}) of the Southern
United States, which makes extensive burrows.
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4. A large burrowing snake ({Spilotes Couperi}) of the
Southern United States.
[1913 Webster]
{Gopher drift} (Mining), an irregular prospecting drift,
following or seeking the ore without regard to regular
grade or section. --Raymond.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Prairie \Prai"rie\, n. [F., an extensive meadow, OF. praerie,
LL. prataria, fr. L. pratum a meadow.]
1. An extensive tract of level or rolling land, destitute of
trees, covered with coarse grass, and usually
characterized by a deep, fertile soil. They abound
throughout the Mississippi valley, between the Alleghanies
and the Rocky mountains.
[1913 Webster]
From the forests and the prairies,
From the great lakes of the northland. --Longfellow.
[1913 Webster]
2. A meadow or tract of grass; especially, a so called
natural meadow.
[1913 Webster]
{Prairie chicken} (Zool.), any American grouse of the genus
{Tympanuchus}, especially {Tympanuchus Americanus}
(formerly {Tympanuchus cupido}), which inhabits the
prairies of the central United States. Applied also to the
sharp-tailed grouse.
{Prairie clover} (Bot.), any plant of the leguminous genus
{Petalostemon}, having small rosy or white flowers in
dense terminal heads or spikes. Several species occur in
the prairies of the United States.
{Prairie dock} (Bot.), a coarse composite plant ({Silphium
terebinthaceum}) with large rough leaves and yellow
flowers, found in the Western prairies.
{Prairie dog} (Zool.), a small American rodent ({Cynomys
Ludovicianus}) allied to the marmots. It inhabits the
plains west of the Mississippi. The prairie dogs burrow in
the ground in large warrens, and have a sharp bark like
that of a dog. Called also {prairie marmot}.
{Prairie grouse}. Same as {Prairie chicken}, above.
{Prairie hare} (Zool.), a large long-eared Western hare
({Lepus campestris}). See {Jack rabbit}, under 2d {Jack}.
{Prairie hawk}, {Prairie falcon} (Zool.), a falcon of Western
North America ({Falco Mexicanus}). The upper parts are
brown. The tail has transverse bands of white; the under
parts, longitudinal streaks and spots of brown.
{Prairie hen}. (Zool.) Same as {Prairie chicken}, above.
{Prairie itch} (Med.), an affection of the skin attended with
intense itching, which is observed in the Northern and
Western United States; -- also called {swamp itch},
{winter itch}.
{Prairie marmot}. (Zool.) Same as {Prairie dog}, above.
{Prairie mole} (Zool.), a large American mole ({Scalops
argentatus}), native of the Western prairies.
{Prairie pigeon}, {Prairie plover}, or {Prairie snipe}
(Zool.), the upland plover. See {Plover}, n., 2.
{Prairie rattlesnake} (Zool.), the massasauga.
{Prairie snake} (Zool.), a large harmless American snake
({Masticophis flavigularis}). It is pale yellow, tinged
with brown above.
{Prairie squirrel} (Zool.), any American ground squirrel of
the genus {Spermophilus}, inhabiting prairies; -- called
also {gopher}.
{Prairie turnip} (Bot.), the edible turnip-shaped farinaceous
root of a leguminous plant ({Psoralea esculenta}) of the
Upper Missouri region; also, the plant itself. Called also
{pomme blanche}, and {pomme de prairie}.
{Prairie warbler} (Zool.), a bright-colored American warbler
({Dendroica discolor}). The back is olive yellow, with a
group of reddish spots in the middle; the under parts and
the parts around the eyes are bright yellow; the sides of
the throat and spots along the sides, black; three outer
tail feathers partly white.
{Prairie wolf}. (Zool.) See {Coyote}.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
gopher
n 1: a zealously energetic person (especially a salesman) [syn:
{goffer}, {gopher}]
2: a native or resident of Minnesota [syn: {Minnesotan},
{Gopher}]
3: any of various terrestrial burrowing rodents of Old and New
Worlds; often destroy crops [syn: {ground squirrel},
{gopher}, {spermophile}]
4: burrowing rodent of the family Geomyidae having large
external cheek pouches; of Central America and southwestern
North America [syn: {gopher}, {pocket gopher}, {pouched rat}]
5: burrowing edible land tortoise of southeastern North America
[syn: {gopher tortoise}, {gopher turtle}, {gopher}, {Gopherus
polypemus}]
From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]:
gopher
n.
[obs.] A type of Internet service first floated around 1991 and obsolesced
around 1995 by the World Wide Web. Gopher presents a menuing interface to a
tree or graph of links; the links can be to documents, runnable programs,
or other gopher menus arbitrarily far across the net.
Some claim that the gopher software, which was originally developed at the
University of Minnesota, was named after the Minnesota Gophers (a sports
team). Others claim the word derives from American slang gofer (from ?go
for?, dialectal ?go fer?), one whose job is to run and fetch things.
Finally, observe that gophers dig long tunnels, and the idea of tunneling
through the net to find information was a defining metaphor for the
developers. Probably all three things were true, but with the first two
coming first and the gopher-tunnel metaphor serendipitously adding flavor
and impetus to the project as it developed out of its concept stage.
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