1. [n]  sturdy carnivorous burrowing mammal with strong claws widely distributed in the northern hemisphere
2. [v]  persuade through constant efforts
3. [v]  annoy persistently; "The children teased the boy because of his stammer"

1. \Badg"er\, n. [Of uncertain origin; perh. fr. an old verb
   badge to lay up provisions to sell again.]
   An itinerant licensed dealer in commodities used for food; a
   hawker; a huckster; -- formerly applied especially to one who
   bought grain in one place and sold it in another. [Now
   dialectic, Eng.]
   
   

2. \Badg"er\, n. [OE. bageard, prob. fr. badge + -ard, in
   reference to the white mark on its forehead. See {Badge},n.]
   1. A carnivorous quadruped of the genus {Meles} or of an
      allied genus. It is a burrowing animal, with short, thick
      legs, and long claws on the fore feet. One species ({M.
      vulgaris}), called also {brock}, inhabits the north of
      Europe and Asia; another species ({Taxidea Americana or
      Labradorica}) inhabits the northern parts of North
      America. See {Teledu}.
   
   2. A brush made of badgers' hair, used by artists.
   
   {Badger dog}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Dachshund}.
   
   

3. \Badg"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Badgered} (?);p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Badgering}.] [For sense 1, see 2d {Badger}; for 2,
   see 1st {Badger}.]
   1. To tease or annoy, as a badger when baited; to worry or
      irritate persistently.
   
   2. To beat down; to cheapen; to barter; to bargain.
   
   

this word is found in Ex. 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34; Num. 4:6, etc. The tabernacle was covered with badgers' skins; the shoes of women were also made of them (Ezek. 16:10). Our translators seem to have been misled by the similarity in sound of the Hebrew _tachash_ and the Latin _taxus_, "a badger." The revisers have correctly substituted "seal skins." The Arabs of the Sinaitic peninsula apply the name _tucash_ to the seals and dugongs which are common in the Red Sea, and the skins of which are largely used as leather and for sandals. Though the badger is common in Palestine, and might occur in the wilderness, its small hide would have been useless as a tent covering. The dugong, very plentiful in the shallow waters on the shores of the Red Sea, is a marine animal from 12 to 30 feet long, something between a whale and a seal, never leaving the water, but very easily caught. It grazes on seaweed, and is known by naturalists as Halicore tabernaculi.