otter

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Archaic form of attar.

   […] the precious perfume called otter of roses.

2. 2
   noun

   freshwater carnivorous mammal having webbed and clawed feet and dark brown fur

3. 3
   noun

   the fur of an otter

4. 4
   noun

   An aquatic or marine carnivorous mammal in the subfamily Lutrinae.

5. 5
   noun

   A hairy man with a slender physique, in contrast with a bear, who is more thickset.

6. 6
   noun

   annatto (dye)

7. 7
   name

   A river with its source in the Blackdown Hills, Somerset, and which flows through Devon, to Lyme Bay in the English Channel.

Etymology

From Middle English oter, otir, otur, otyre, from Old English otor, from Proto-West Germanic *otr, from Proto-Germanic *utraz, from Proto-Indo-European *udrós (“aquatic, water-animal”), from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Otter, Dutch otter, German Otter, Swedish utter, Norwegian oter, Icelandic otur, Sanskrit उद्र (udrá), Russian вы́дра (výdra), and Ancient Greek ὕδρα (húdra, “water snake”). Doublet of Hydra and hydra. More etymology under English water.