Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

   {Duck mole}. See under {Duck}.

   {Golden mole}. See {Chrysochlore}.

   {Mole cricket} (Zo["o]l.), an orthopterous insect of the
      genus {Gryllotalpa}, which excavates subterranean
      galleries, and throws up mounds of earth resembling those
      of the mole. It is said to do damage by injuring the roots
      of plants. The common European species ({Gryllotalpa
      vulgaris}), and the American ({G. borealis}), are the best
      known.

   {Mole rat} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of Old
      World rodents of the genera {Spalax}, {Georychus}, and
      several allied genera. They are molelike in appearance and
      habits, and their eyes are small or rudimentary.

   {Mole shrew} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of
      short-tailed American shrews of the genus {Blarina}, esp.
      {B. brevicauda}.

   {Water mole}, the duck mole.

Shrew \Shrew\, n. [See {Shrew}, a.]
   1. Originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of
      either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a
      brawler; a scold.

            A man . . . grudgeth that shrews [i. e., bad men]
            have prosperity, or else that good men have
            adversity.                            --Chaucer.

            A man had got a shrew to his wife, and there could
            be no quiet in the house for her.     --L'Estrange.

   2. [AS. scre['a]wa; -- so called because supposed to be
      venomous. ] (Zo["o]l.) Any small insectivore of the genus
      {Sorex} and several allied genera of the family
      {Sorecid[ae]}. In form and color they resemble mice, but
      they have a longer and more pointed nose. Some of them are
      the smallest of all mammals.

   Note: The common European species are the house shrew
         ({Crocidura araneus}), and the erd shrew ({Sorex
         vulgaris}) (see under {Erd}.). In the United States
         several species of {Sorex} and {Blarina} are common, as
         the broadnosed shrew ({S. platyrhinus}), Cooper's shrew
         ({S. Cooperi}), and the short-tailed, or mole, shrew
         ({Blarina brevicauda}). Th American water, or marsh,
         shrew ({Neosorex palustris}), with fringed feet, is
         less common. The common European water shrews are
         {Crossopus fodiens}, and the oared shrew (see under
         {Oared}).

   {Earth shrew}, any shrewlike burrowing animal of the family
      {Centetid[ae]}, as the tendrac.

   {Elephant shrew}, {Jumping shrew}, {Mole shrew}. See under
      {Elephant}, {Jumping}, etc.

   {Musk shrew}. See {Desman}.

   {River shrew}, an aquatic West African insectivore
      ({Potamogale velox}) resembling a weasel in form and size,
      but having a large flattened and crested tail adapted for
      rapid swimming. It feeds on fishes.

   {Shrew mole}, a common large North American mole ({Scalops
      aquaticus}). Its fine, soft fur is gray with iridescent
      purple tints.