Hanoverian rat

noun

The brown rat, Rattus norvegicus.

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Meanings

nounHanoverian rat (plural Hanoverian rats)

plural Hanoverian rats

  1. The brown rat, Rattus norvegicus.

Origin

The name was introduced by English naturalist Charles Waterton, a devout Catholic, as a slur on Protestant Hanoverians whose British rule began in 1714, shortly before the species first appeared in Britain.

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Cite this entry
APA

Hanoverian rat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanoverian%20rat

MLA

“Hanoverian rat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanoverian%20rat. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hanoverian rat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanoverian%20rat.

Source: Hanoverian rat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.