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rat

Pronunciation: /ɹæt/

The English word “rat” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Any of the numerous members of several rodent families that usually have short limbs, a pointy snout, a long, hairless tail, and a body length greater than about 12 cm, or 5 inches.
  2. A medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus Rattus.
  3. A person who is known for betrayal.
  4. An informant or snitch.
  5. A scab: a worker who acts against trade union policies.
  6. A person who routinely spends time at a particular location.
  7. A wad of shed hair used as part of a hairstyle.
  8. A roll of material used to puff out the hair, which is turned over it.
  9. Vagina, vulva.
  10. A scratch or a score.
  11. A place in the sea with rapid currents and crags where a ship is likely to be torn apart in stormy weather.
  12. A ration.

verb

  1. To hunt or kill rats.
  2. To betray a political party, cause or principle; to betray someone, to desert a person or thing.
  3. To work as a scab, going against trade union policies.
  4. To backcomb (hair).
  5. To inform on someone; to betray someone to the police or authorities.
  6. To scratch or score.
  7. To tear, rip, rend.
  8. Damn, drat, blast; used in oaths.

Etymology

From Middle English raat, rat, ratt, ratte, rotte, from Old English ræt, rætt, from Proto-West Germanic *ratt, from Proto-Germanic *rattaz, *rattō (“rat”), of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- (“to gnaw, scrape, scratch”). However, the rat may have been unknown in Northern Europe in antiquity, and the Proto-Germanic word may have referred to a different animal; see…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.