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hamster

[ ham-ster ]

noun

  1. any of several short-tailed, stout-bodied, burrowing rodents, as Cricetus cricetus, of Europe and Asia, having large cheek pouches.


hamster

/ ˈhæmstə /

noun

  1. any Eurasian burrowing rodent of the tribe Cricetini, such as Mesocricetus auratus ( golden hamster ), having a stocky body, short tail, and cheek pouches: family Cricetidae. They are popular pets


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Word History and Origins

Origin of hamster1

1600–10; < German; compare Old High German hamastro, Old Saxon hamstra weevil

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Word History and Origins

Origin of hamster1

C17: from German, from Old High German hamustro, of Slavic origin

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Example Sentences

Coronavirus research on hamsters also supports that the effect applies to the current pandemic.

He watched the pet hamster and took the girls to Disneyland.

Scientists gave hamsters more of the virus and they got more sick.

In July, researchers published a paper showing that viral dose was related to disease severity in hamsters exposed to the coronavirus.

Hamsters who were given a higher viral dose got more sick than hamsters given a lower dose.

After seeing this trick with blocks and toys, children saw it performed with a hamster.

His tiny hamster buddies drop by and they all wear tiny hats.

And in item 6c I get to list my dependents—three children, four dogs, six laying hens, two goldfish, and a hamster.

In Steve, she plays Mary Magdalene Horowitz, an excitable loser who spends her days confiding in her only friend—a pet hamster.

Kim Jong Un, a hamster in the snake pit of the regime, has just created a new adversary.

Its natural disposition and habits are nearly the same as those of the hamster and zisel.

This remarkable little animal threshing-machine is called the hamster.

And in the mere matter of the amount of grain handled, the work of the hamster is not to be laughed at.

Another advantage is that you can't be robbed of your store as easily as the hamster, for example, frequently is.

Among them is the Hamster (Cricetus frumentarius), so widely known for the ravages which it makes among the crops.

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More About Hamster

Where does the word hamster come from?

The name for those adorable, fluffy, little chipmunk-cheeked rodents known as hamsters hails from German. Hamster was borrowed directly from the German Hamster in the early 1600s.

We consider hamsters as the hipsters of the rodent world. Just because we can. For the sheer fun of wordplay. Alas, the -ster suffix in hipster is unrelated to the letters -ster in hamster.

Now that you know how hamsters got their name, why not find out how some of our other most beloved pets got theirs in the slideshow: “Where Do The Words For Our Pets Come From?”

Did you know … ?

While there are nearly 20 species of hamsters, the one most commonly kept as pets is the Syrian hamster, also known as the golden hamster.

Incredibly, Syrian hamsters kept as pets today trace their ancestry—um, “hamcestry”?—back to a single female wild hamster that was caught in Aleppo, Syria, in 1930, which was then bred and spread around the world.

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