pack rat
or pack·rat
- Also called trade rat, wood rat. a large, bushy-tailed rodent, Neotoma cinerea, of North America, noted for carrying off small articles to store in its nest.
- Informal. a person who saves things that are not needed or used but that may have personal or other value.
- Informal. an old prospector or guide.
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Origin of pack rat
First recorded in 1840–50
pack-rat
or pack·rat
[pak-rat]
- to save in the manner of a pack rat: I’m looking through the stuff my grandpa pack-ratted away in the attic.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
pack rat
- any rat of the genus Neotoma, of W North America, having a long tail that is furry in some species: family CricetidaeAlso called: wood rat
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for packrat
pack-rat
n.
common name for the North American bushytailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea) 1885, from pack (v.); so called from the rodents' habit of dragging objects off to their holes. Used figuratively or allusively from c.1850 of persons who won't discard anything, which means either the rat's name is older than the record or the human sense is the original one.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper