Etymology : ultimately from Latin rodent-, rodens, present participle of rodere to gnaw; akin to Latin radere to scrape, scratch, Sanskrit radati he gnaws
Pronunciation : 'rO-d
&nt
Function : noun
Date : 1859
1. order of gnawing or nibbling mammals. rodent\ro"dent\ , a. [l. rodens, -entis, p. pr. of rodere to gnaw. see:
rase, v. t., and cf. rostrum.].
2. gnawing; biting; corroding; (med.) applied to a destructive variety of cancer or ulcer.
3. (zo?l.) (a) gnawing. (b) of or pertaining to the rodentia.rodent \ro"dent\, n. (zo?l.) one of the rodentia.rodent relatively small gnawing animals having a single pair of constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawing [syn: gnawer, gnawing animal].
4. Gnawing; biting; corroding; applied to a destructive variety of cancer or ulcer.
5. Gnawing.
6. Of or pertaining to the Rodentia.
7. One of the Rodentia. relatively small gnawing animals having a single pair of constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawing.
8. Rodents are small mammals which have sharp front teeth. Rats, mice, and squirrels are rodents. any small animal of the type that has long sharp front teeth, such as a rat or a rabbit (present participle of rodere ). Any member of the order Rodentia, which contains 50% of all living mammal species. Rodents are gnawing, mostly herbivorous, placental mammals. They have one pair of upper and one pair of lower, continuously growing, incisors. When the lower jaw is pulled back, the cheek teeth connect for grinding; when it is pulled forward and down, the incisors meet at the tips for gnawing. Rodent families include squirrels (Sciuridae); Old World mice (see:
mouse) and rats (Muridae); deer mice (see:
deer mouse), gerbils, hamsters, lemmings, muskrats, wood rats, and voles (Cricetidae); beaver (Castoridae); gophers (Geomyidae); guinea pigs (Caviidae); pocket mice (see:
pocket mouse) and kangaroo rats and mice (Heteromyidae); New and Old World porcupines (Erethizontidae and Hystricidae); and hutia (Capromyidae).