Am 24.11.2015 um 21:53 schrieb Vir Campestris:
......... I'm also not clear what Rötel means. It's the name of the
iron mineral haematite, and in the plural is German measles... perhaps
russet or such.

The name "Rötelmaus" is due to the reddish shine of the grey fur.
reddish = rötlich. BTW: rubella in German is "Röteln" and there is
another word with "Rötel": Rötelstift meaning red chalk.
Cheers Gotthelf

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