Editing European badger (section)

==Nomenclature==
The [[Derivation (linguistics)|source]] of the word "badger" is uncertain. The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] states it probably derives from "badge" + ''-ard'', a reference to the white mark on its forehead that resembles a badge, and may date to the early 16th century.<ref name="OED">{{cite book |author1=Weiner, E. S. C. |author2=Simpson, J. R. |title=The Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |year=1989 |isbn=0-19-861186-2 |access-date=30 August 2008|url=http://dictionary.oed.com}}</ref> The [[French language|French]] word {{lang|fr|bêcheur}} ('digger') has also been suggested as a source.<ref>Neal, Ernest G. and Cheeseman, C. L. (1996) ''Badgers'', p. 2, T. & A.D. Poyser {{ISBN|0-85661-082-8}}</ref> A male badger is a boar, a female is a sow, and a young badger is a cub. A badger's home is called a sett.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/wildlife/badger.pdf |title=Scotland's Wildlife: Badgers and Development |access-date=2015-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924104416/http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/wildlife/badger.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Badger colonies are often called clans.

The far older name "brock" ({{langx|ang|brocc}}), ({{langx|sco|brock}}) is a [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] [[loanword]] (cf. [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] {{lang|cel|broc}} and [[Welsh language|Welsh]] {{lang|cy|broch}}, from [[Proto-Celtic]] {{lang|cel|*brokko}}) meaning 'grey'.<ref name="OED" /> The [[Proto-Germanic]] term was {{lang|gem|*þahsu-}} (cf. [[German language|German]] {{lang|de|Dachs}}, [[Dutch language|Dutch]] {{lang|nl|das}}, [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] {{lang|no|svin-toks}}; [[Early Modern English]] ''dasse''), probably from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] [[root (linguistics)|root]] {{lang|ine|*tek'-}} 'to construct', which suggests that the badger was named after its digging of [[sett]]s (tunnels); the Germanic term {{lang|gem|*þahsu-}} became {{lang|la|taxus}} or {{lang|la|taxō}}, {{lang|la|-ōnis}} in [[Latin]] [[Gloss (annotation)|glosses]], replacing {{lang|la|mēlēs}} ('[[marten]]' or 'badger'),<ref>{{cite book | first1=Alfred | last1=Ernout | first2=Antoine | last2=Meillet | author-link2=Antoine Meillet | title=Dictionnaire étimologique de la langue latine | edition=4th | orig-year=1932 | year=1979 | publisher=Klincksieck | location=Paris | language=fr}}</ref> and from these words the common [[Romance languages|Romance]] terms for the animal evolved ([[Italian language|Italian]] {{lang|it|tasso}}, [[French language|French]] {{lang|fr|tesson/taisson/tasson}}—now {{lang|fr|blaireau}} is more common—, [[Catalan language|Catalan]] {{lang|ca|toixó}}, [[Spanish language|Spanish]] {{lang|es|tejón}}, [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] {{lang|pt|texugo}}) except [[Asturian language|Asturian]] {{lang|ast|melandru}}.<ref>{{cite book| first=Giacomo | last=Devoto | author-link=Giacomo Devoto | title=Avviamento all'etimologia italiana | edition=6th | orig-year=1979 | year=1989 | publisher=Mondadori | location=Milano | language=it}}</ref>

Until the mid-18th century, European badgers were variously known in English as brock, pate, grey, and bawson. The name "bawson" is derived from "bawsened", which refers to something striped with white. "Pate" is a local name that was once popular in northern England. The name "badget" was once common, but only used in [[Norfolk]], while "earth dog" was used in southern Ireland.<ref name="n150">{{Harvnb|Neal|1976|pp=150–152}}</ref> The badger is commonly referred to in Welsh as a {{lang|cy|mochyn daear}} ('earth pig').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geiriadur.net/index.php?page=ateb&term=badger&direction=ew&type=all&whichpart=exact |title=Badger |work=Geiriadur: Welsh-English / English-Welsh On-line Dictionary |publisher=University of Wales: Trinity Saint David |access-date=2013-10-05}}</ref>