a rodent that is a mammal and similar to a mouse; or, a kind of animal that is similar to a rat (see Molina)
Orthographic Variants:
chachauatl
Alonso de Molina:
chachauatl. liron, o cierto animal como rata. Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 19r. col. 1. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.