different between muskrat vs ferret

English

Alternative forms

• musk-rat

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?sk?æt/

Noun

muskrat (plural muskrats)

1. A large aquatic rodent (Ondatra zibethicus).
   • 1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter IX. "The Sea and the Desert", page 187.

     He also said that minks, muskrats, foxes, coons, and wild mice were found there, but no squirrels.

2. Any of several species of shrews in the family Soricidae, especially the Asian house shrew, Suncus murinus

Synonyms

• 'rat (chiefly informal), rat (chiefly informal)
• (Ondatra zibethicus): musquash
• (shrew): musk shrew

Derived terms

• muskrat weed
• muskrat root

Translations

References

• muskrat on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Asian house shrew on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Ondatra zibethicus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Suncus murinus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Ondatra zibethicus on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Anagrams

• Muktsar, muktars

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: f?r'?t, IPA^(key): /?f???t/
• Rhymes: -?r?t

Etymology 1

From Middle English furet, ferret, from Old French furet, from Vulgar Latin *furittum (“weasel, ferret”), diminutive of Latin f?r (“thief”).

Noun

ferret (plural ferrets)

1. An often domesticated mammal (Mustela putorius furo) rather like a weasel, descended from the polecat and often trained to hunt burrowing animals.
2. The black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes.
3. (figuratively) A diligent searcher.
   • 1998 July 2, Charles Nicholl, "Screaming in the Castle" in the London Review of Books, Vol. XX, No. 13:

     The most challenging documentary discoveries were made by a tenacious archival ferret, Dr Antonio Bertoletti. In 1879 he published his findings in a slim, refreshingly dry volume, Francesco Cenci e la sua Famiglia.

Related terms

• ferret-badger
• furtive

Translations

Verb

ferret (third-person singular simple present ferrets, present participle ferreting, simple past and past participle ferreted)

1. To hunt game with ferrets.
2. (by extension, transitive, intransitive) To uncover and bring to light by searching; usually to ferret out.

Translations

Etymology 2

Italian fioretto

Noun

ferret

1. (dated) A tape of silk, cotton, or ribbon, used to tie documents, clothing, etc. or along the edge of fabric.

   • red tape and green ferret

Further reading

• ferret on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• refret

French

Etymology

From fer +? -et.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f?.??/

Noun

ferret m (plural ferrets)

1. (metal) tag; aglet, aiguillette

Further reading

• “ferret” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

ferret

1. third-person singular imperfect active subjunctive of fer?