muskrat

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See also: musk-rat

English

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Drawing of a muskrat dating from 1927

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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muskrat (plural muskrats)

  1. A large aquatic rodent of species Ondatra zibethicus.
    • 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.
  2. Any of several shrews in the family Soricidae, especially an Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus).
  3. (obsolete) A bandicoot rat.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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Anagrams

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