Meanings
nounrat king (plural rat kings)
plural rat kings
- A conglomeration of rats whose tails have become knotted or stuck together.
Origin
- GermanRattenkönig
- Englishrat king
Calque of German Rattenkönig.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish rottekonge
- rottekongeconglomeration of rats with tails joined
Dutch rattenkoning
- rattenkoningconglomeration of rats with tails joined
Finnish rottakuningas
- rottakuningasconglomeration of rats with tails joined
French roi de rats
- roi de ratsconglomeration of rats with tails joined
German Rattenkönig
- Rattenkönigconglomeration of rats with tails joined
Italian re dei ratti
- re dei ratticonglomeration of rats with tails joined
Portuguese rei-dos-ratos
- rei-dos-ratosconglomeration of rats with tails joined
Spanish rey de las ratas
- rey de las ratasconglomeration of rats with tails joined
Swedish råttkung
- råttkungconglomeration of rats with tails joined
Turkish fare kral
- fare kralconglomeration of rats with tails joined
Cite this entry
APA
rat king. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat%20king
MLA
“rat king.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat%20king. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rat king,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rat%20king.
Source: rat king on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.