Norway rat
         n 1: common domestic rat; serious pest worldwide [syn: {brown
               rat}, {Norway rat}, {Rattus norvegicus}]

English Dictionary: Norway rat	by the DICT Development Group
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Rat \Rat\, n. [AS. r[91]t; akin to D. rat, OHG. rato, ratta, G.       ratte, ratze, OLG. ratta, LG. & Dan. rotte, Sw. r[86]tta, F.       rat, Ir. & Gael radan, Armor. raz, of unknown origin. Cf.       {Raccoon}.]       1. (Zo[94]l.) One of the several species of small rodents of             the genus {Mus} and allied genera, larger than mice, that             infest houses, stores, and ships, especially the Norway,             or brown, rat ({M. Alexandrinus}). These were introduced             into Anerica from the Old World.          2. A round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material,             used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their             natural hair. [Local, U.S.]          3. One who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the             trades, one who works for lower wages than those             prescribed by a trades union. [Cant]          Note: [bd]It so chanced that, not long after the accession of                the house of Hanover, some of the brown, that is the                German or Norway, rats, were first brought over to this                country (in some timber as is said); and being much                stronger than the black, or, till then, the common,                rats, they in many places quite extirpated the latter.                The word (both the noun and the verb to rat) was first,                as we have seen, leveled at the converts to the                government of George the First, but has by degrees                obtained a wide meaning, and come to be applied to any                sudden and mercenary change in politics.[b8] --Lord                Mahon.          {Bamboo rat} (Zo[94]l.), any Indian rodent of the genus             {Rhizomys}.          {Beaver rat}, {Coast rat}. (Zo[94]l.) See under {Beaver} and             {Coast}.          {Blind rat} (Zo[94]l.), the mole rat.          {Cotton rat} (Zo[94]l.), a long-haired rat ({Sigmodon             hispidus}), native of the Southern United States and             Mexico. It makes its nest of cotton and is often injurious             to the crop.          {Ground rat}. See {Ground Pig}, under {Ground}.          {Hedgehog rat}. See under {Hedgehog}.          {Kangaroo rat} (Zo[94]l.), the potoroo.          {Norway rat} (Zo[94]l.), the common brown rat. See {Rat}.          {Pouched rat}. (Zo[94]l.)             (a) See {Pocket Gopher}, under {Pocket}.             (b) Any African rodent of the genus {Cricetomys}.          {Rat Indians} (Ethnol.), a tribe of Indians dwelling near             Fort Ukon, Alaska. They belong to Athabascan stock.          {Rat mole}. (Zo[94]l.) See {Mole rat}, under {Mole}.          {Rat pit}, an inclosed space into which rats are put to be             killed by a dog for sport.          {Rat snake} (Zo[94]l.), a large colubrine snake ({Ptyas             mucosus}) very common in India and Ceylon. It enters             dwellings, and destroys rats, chickens, etc.          {Spiny rat} (Zo[94]l.), any South America rodent of the genus             {Echinomys}.          {To smell a rat}. See under {Smell}.          {Wood rat} (Zo[94]l.), any American rat of the genus             {Neotoma}, especially {N. Floridana}, common in the             Southern United States. Its feet and belly are white.