From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
hamster
n : short-tailed Old World burrowing rodent with large cheek
pouches
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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 The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 Sep 2003) [foldoc]:
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)
From Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) [jargon]:
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.