Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

(răt′tālˊ)

Adj.

Like a rat’s tail in form;

as, a

rat-tail

file, which is round, slender, and tapering

. See Illust. of

Noun.

(Far.)

pl.

An excrescence growing from the pastern to the middle of the shank of a horse.

(Zool.)

(a)

The California chimaera. See

(b)

Any fish of the genus

Macrurus

. See

, 2.

See also: rattail

rat-tail ‎(plural rat-tails)

(slang) A towel that has been tightly twisted along the diagonal to make a rudimentary whip with a towel corner at the tip, typically used in juvenile pranks.
An excrescence growing from the pastern to the middle of the shank of a horse.
A fish, the California chimera, Hydrolagus colliei, syn. Chimaera colliei.
Any fish of the genus Macrurus; a grenadier.