Where does “tree rat” come from?

tree rat (English) comes from English rat, from Middle English raat, from Old English ræt, from Old English rætt, from Proto-Germanic rattaz, from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- — to scrape.

tree rat (English): Any of very many diverse rodents

Definitions

  1. Any of very many diverse rodents

Ancestry of “tree rat”, step by step

tree rat traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English rat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishratA medium-sized rodent belonging to the genus...
2Middle EnglishraatAlternative form of ratte
3Old EnglishrætAlternative form of rætt
4Old Englishrættrat
5Proto-Germanicrattazrat
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanHreh₃d-to scrape

via English tree

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtreeA perennial woody plant, not exactly defined, but...
2Middle EnglishtreA tree or a plant that resembles one
Every word from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₃d- →