1665-75, Americanism; presumably a reshaping by folk etymology of a word in a Southern New England Algonquian language; compare Narragansett (E spelling) ockqutchaun woodchuck
Examples from the web for woodchuck
The woodchuck sleeps in his burrow, with never a whimper, and the hound dog bays the white-circled moon.
Moles and a woodchuck wreak havoc with the blossoms in the garden.
True hibernators do get up every few weeks to nibble on food, and in the case of the woodchuck, use an underground toilet room.
Brush piles, thickets, and abandoned woodchuck burrows are used for cover.
British Dictionary definitions for woodchuck
woodchuck
/ˈwʊdˌtʃʌk/
noun
1.
a North American marmot, Marmota monax, having coarse reddish-brown fur Also called groundhog
Word Origin
C17: by folk etymology from Cree otcheck fisher, marten
Word Origin and History for woodchuck
n.
1670s, alteration (influenced by wood (n.)) of Cree (Algonquian) otchek or Ojibwa otchig, "marten," the name subsequently transferred to the groundhog.