a small rodent from the Arctic that travels in large groups and is famous for a false myth about jumping off cliffs.
From Norwegian 'lemming.' The word entered English in the 17th century when Arctic explorers reported on these creatures. The origin of the Norse word is unclear but possibly imitative.
The 'lemmings committing mass suicide by jumping off cliffs' is completely false—it started as a 1958 Disney documentary that staged the footage to make lemmings look dramatic, and we still believe it 60+ years later.
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