actually, in french mouse is souris (and bat is "shaved mouse", chauve souris)

i think the french just know the italian word. i think there have been other celebrity topi, like Topo Gigio. i wrote a little script tool to explore/confirm my network topology, and i call it gigio :) it's based on testing ad hoc knowledge of my network topology so it's not generally useful.

Bat is actually "bald mouse", not "shaved", which makes sense somehow !

The etymology of "chauve" (bald) in "chauve-souris" (bat) is debated, but I've often read that it could be a deformation of a word designating an owl or a crow (it would be a cognate with the late Latin "cavannus" (tawny owl), for example).

On a similar note, the "cerf" (deer) in "un cerf-volant" (a kite toy) probably derive from occitan sèrp (snake) as a reference to dragon-shaped kites from Asia.

Interesting, probably a cognate of latin serpens, also English serpent (=snake), the other is also from latin cervus (=deer).

Souris seems related to the Italian synonym / pejorative sorcio (for mouse) but I haven't checked.