muskrat

See also: musk-rat

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Perhaps so called for its musky odour and because it resembles a rat, or perhaps called by an Algonquian name like the Abenaki moskwas, with the spelling altered under the influence of the English words musk and rat.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmʌskɹæt/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

muskrat (plural muskrats)

  1. A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini.
    Synonyms: musquash, ondatra (dialectal), 'rat (clipping), rat (clipping)
    • 1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter IX. "The Sea and the Desert", page 187.
      He also said that minks, muskrats, foxes, coons, and wild mice were found there, but no squirrels.
    • 2020, Louise Erdrich, The Night Watchman, Corsair (2021), page 442:
      Later, dozing in the lamplight, he saw muskrats everywhere. Their small supple forms slipped busily along the floor at dusk, continually perfecting their burrows. He saw them pulling soft weeds and holding juicy roots in their tiny paws to eat.
  2. Any of several shrews in the family Soricidae, especially an Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus).
    Synonyms: Asian house shrew, musk shrew
  3. (obsolete) A bandicoot rat.

Derived terms

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