Understood female in Germany (8)
I believe the answer is:
fathomed
'understood' is the definition.
(fathoming is a kind of understanding)
'female in germany' is the wordplay.
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'in' becomes 'athome'.
'germany' becomes 'd' (international vehicle registration code).
'f'+'athome'+'d'='FATHOMED'
(Other definitions for fathomed that I've seen before include "Deeply understood" , "Sounded" , "Got" .)