Webster's 1828 Dictionary
Search the Webster's 1828 Dictionary
RAT, noun [Probably named from gnawing, and from the root of Latin rodo.]
A small quadruped of the genus Mus, which infests houses, stores and ships; a troublesome race of animals.
To smell a rat to be suspicious, to be on the watch from suspicion; as a cat by the scent or noise of a rat