Norway rat
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus).
- 2 common domestic rat; serious pest worldwide wordnet
Etymology
The common name was popularised (and perhaps coined) by English naturalist John Berkenhout, in his Outlines of the Natural History of Great Britain (1769). Berkenhout believed the species migrated to England from Norwegian ships in 1728; he is also responsible for the scientific name.