English
hamster
Hamster comes from Middle High German hamster, and goes back to Old High German hamastra.
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050hamastra
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350hamster
- Germanc. 1650–presentHamster
- Englishearliest quotation 1974hamster
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050hamastra
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350hamster
- Germanc. 1650–presentHamster
- Englishearliest quotation 1974hamster
Earliest quotation: 1974, Phyllis Knight, Rolf Knight: “Probably the city government knew that without that hamstering…”
Every English word from Old High German hamastra
Today it means
noun Any of various Old World rodent species belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old High German hamastra / hamster