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
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI