muskrat

Drawing of a muskrat dating from 1927

Meaning

A large aquatic rodent (Ondatra zibethicus).
Any of several species of shrews in the family Soricidae, especially the Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus).

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.

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