different between hamster vs guineapig

English

Alternative forms

• hampster

Etymology

Borrowed from German Hamster, from Middle High German hamster, from Old High German hamastra, hamustro (compare Old Saxon hamustra), probably from Old East Slavic ????????? (xom?stor?), ????????? (xom?star?), compound of (1) ?????? (xom?k?, “hamster”) (compare Russian ?????? (xomják), Polish chomik), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *k?mjas (compare Latvian k?mis (“hamster”), Lithuanian kãmas (“rat”), and of (2) Proto-Balto-Slavic *staras (compare Lithuanian stãras (“ground squirrel”).

Alternatively, a borrowing into Slavic from Iranian, compare Avestan ????????????????????????????????????-? (hama?star-, “who throws down (in this case: corn stalks), oppresses”). Displaced earlier term German rat.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?hæm(p)st?/

Noun

hamster (plural hamsters)

1. Any of various Old-World rodent species belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae.
   1. especially, the golden hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, and the dwarf hamsters of genus Phodopus, often kept as a pet or used in scientific research.

      The hamster stuffed his puffy cheeks with food.

2. Other rodents of similar appearance, such as the maned hamster or crested hamster, Lophiomys imhausi, mouse-like hamsters of genus Calomyscus, and the white-tailed rat (Mystromys albicaudatus).

Synonyms

• (golden hamster): Syrian hamster

Derived terms

• hamstering
• idea hamster
• rationalization hamster

Translations

Verb

hamster (third-person singular simple present hamsters, present participle hamstering, simple past and past participle hamstered)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To secrete or store privately, as a hamster does with food in its cheek pouches.

   Synonym: stash

   • 1974, Phyllis Knight, Rolf Knight, A Very Ordinary Life (page 43)

     Probably the city government knew that without that hamstering half the city would starve and they somehow got the police to lay off. It was in the little stinky one-horse towns that you had all the trouble.

See also

• gerbil
• guinea pig
• mouse
• rat

References

Further reading

• hamster on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Golden hamster on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• hamster in Mammal Species of the World^[1] at Bucknell.

Anagrams

• Amherst, harmest

Danish

Etymology

From German Hamster

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?h?m?sd??]

Noun

hamster c (singular definite hamsteren, plural indefinite hamstere)

1. a hamster

Declension

References

• “hamster” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???mst?r/
• Hyphenation: ham?ster

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Hamster.

Noun

hamster m (plural hamsters, diminutive hamstertje n)

1. hamster

Derived terms

• dwerghamster
• goudhamster
• hamsterbal
• hamsteren
• hamstermolen

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

hamster

1. first-person singular present indicative of hamsteren
2. imperative of hamsteren

French

Etymology

From German Hamster and ultimately of Balto-Slavic origin.

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated h)} IPA^(key): /am.st??/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /am.st?/

Noun

hamster m (plural hamsters)

1. hamster

Further reading

• “hamster” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Verb

hamster

1. singular imperative of hamstern

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From German Hamster

Noun

hamster m (definite singular hamsteren, indefinite plural hamstere or hamstre or hamstrer, definite plural hamsterne or hamstrene)

1. a hamster

References

• “hamster” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From German Hamster

Noun

hamster m (definite singular hamsteren, indefinite plural hamsterar, definite plural hamsterane)

1. a hamster

References

• “hamster” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• hámster (uncommon)
• hâmster (rare)

Etymology

From German Hamster and ultimately of Balto-Slavic origin.

Noun

hamster m (plural hamsters or hamsteres (rare))

1. hamster (small, short-tailed European rodent)

Romanian

Etymology

From English hamster.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ham.ster/

Noun

hamster m (plural hamsteri)

1. hamster

Declension

Swedish

Etymology

From German Hamster and ultimately of Balto-Slavic origin.

Noun

hamster c

1. a hamster

Declension

Related terms

• guldhamster
• hamsterbur
• hamsterhjul
• hamstra
• hamstrare
• hamstring

References

• hamster in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Turkish

Etymology

From English hamster.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [hamste?]
• Hyphenation: hams?ter

Noun

hamster (definite accusative hamsteri, plural hamsterler)

1. (zoology, mammals, rodents) hamster

Declension

English

Noun

guineapig (plural guineapigs)

1. Alternative spelling of guinea pig