Ratsbanes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Substances, often arsenic compounds, that are deliberately laid out to kill rats and other rodents
2. Poisonous preparations designed to destroy rats, typically containing arsenic or a similar toxic chemical
3. Toxic baits or powders intended to eliminate rodent pests by poisoning them when they eat the mixture

Etymology: "Ratsbanes" is the plural of "ratsbane", a noun for poison used to kill rats. The singular is formed from "rat's", the possessive of "rat", and "bane", a word meaning a cause of ruin or death, and the pairing follows the same pattern as "henbane", a poisonous plant. Put together, the name literally describes a thing that is the bane of rats, so the word is a transparent compound rather than a borrowing from another language. Because the two parts are both plain English, the plural simply pluralises the whole compound, giving "ratsbanes" for more than one kind or batch of rat poison.

Synonyms: rat poison