Meanings
nounGerman rat (plural German rats)
plural German rats
- obsoleteA hamster.
The cricetus, or German rat, which Mr. Buffon calls the hamster, greatly resembles the water-rat in its size, small eyes, and the shortness of its tail.
1817, Oliver Goldsmith, Thomas Brown, Goldsmith's History of the Earth, and Animated Nature (page 256)
Cite this entry
APA
German rat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20rat
MLA
“German rat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20rat. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “German rat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/German%20rat.
Source: German rat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.