Chipmunk
mid 19th century: from Ojibwa.
wiktionary
1832; alteration (influenced by chipping squirrel) of earlier chitmunk, from older Ojibwe ačitamo˙nˀ(“squirrels”) (modern ajidamoog), literally ‘those who descend headlong’, from ačit-(“headfirst, face-down”) (compare modern ajijibizo(“he falls headfirst”), ajidagoojin(“he hangs upside down”)). The verb developed due to the high-pitched voices of the American puppet and cartoon chipmunks in the group Alvin and the Chipmunks, who later starred in a popular children's TV show in the 1980s.
etymonline
chipmunk (n.)
"small striped squirrel of eastern North America," 1829 (also chitmunk, 1832), from Algonquian, probably Ojibwa ajidamoo (in the Ottawa dialect ajidamoonh) "red squirrel," literally "head first," or "one who descends trees headlong" (containing ajid- "upside down"), probably influenced by English chip and mink. Other early names for it included ground squirrel and striped squirrel.
