- Main Entry:
- ger·bil

- Variant(s):
- also ger·bille
\ˈjər-bəl\
- Function:
- noun
- Etymology:
- French gerbille, from New Latin Gerbillus, diminutive of gerboa, jerboa jerboa
- Date:
- 1849
: any of numerous Old World burrowing desert rodents (Gerbillus and related genera) with long hind legs adapted for leaping