Hamster

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

hamster
    n 1: short-tailed Old World burrowing rodent with large cheek
         pouches

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Hamster \Ham"ster\ (-st[~e]r), n. [G. hamster.] (Zool.)
   A small European rodent ({Cricetus frumentarius}). It is
   remarkable for having a pouch on each side of the jaw, under
   the skin, and for its migrations. Hamsters are commonly kept
   as a pets.
   [1913 Webster +PJC]

from Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)

hamster
 n.

   1. [Fairchild] A particularly slick little piece of code that does one
   thing well; a small, self-contained hack. The image is of a hamster
   {happily} spinning its exercise wheel.

   2. A tailless mouse; that is, one with an infrared link to a receiver
   on the machine, as opposed to the conventional cable.

   3. [UK] Any item of hardware made by Amstrad, a company famous for its
   cheap plastic PC-almost-compatibles.

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

hamster

   1. <programming> (From {Fairchild}) A particularly slick
   little piece of code that does one thing well; a small,
   self-contained hack.  The image is of a hamster {happily}
   spinning its exercise wheel.

   2. <hardware> A tailless mouse; that is, one with an infrared
   link to a receiver on the machine, as opposed to the
   conventional cable.

   3. <product> (UK) Any item of hardware made by {Amstrad}, a
   company famous for its cheap plastic PC-almost-compatibles.

   [{Jargon File}]

   (1995-02-16)