Otter

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Otter \Ot"ter\ ([o^]t"t[~e]r), n. [OE. oter, AS. otor; akin to
     D. & G. otter, Icel. otr, Dan. odder, Sw. utter, Lith. udra,
     Russ, vuidra, Gr. "y`dra water serpent, hydra, Skr. udra
     otter, and also to E. water. [root]137, 215. See {Water}, and
     cf. {Hydra}.]
     [1913 Webster]


     1. (Zool.) Any carnivorous animal of the genera {Lutra},
        {Enhydra}, and related genera of the family {Mustelidae}.
        Several species are described. They have large, flattish
        heads, short ears, and webbed toes. They are aquatic, and
        feed on fish. The sea otter ({Enhydra lutris}) also eats
        clams, crabs, starfish, abalone, and other marine animals;
        they may come to the surface, and lying on their backs
        using the stomach as a table, may be seen cracking open
        the shell of its prey with a rock. The common otter of
        Europe is {Lutra vulgaris}; the {North American otter} (or
        American otter) is {Lutra Canadensis}, which inhabits
        marshes, streams and rivers; other species inhabit South
        America and Asia. The North American otter adult is about
        three to four feet long (including the tail) and weighs
        from 10 to 30 pounds; the sea otter is commonly four feet
        long and 45 pounds (female) or 60 pounds (male). Their fur
        is soft and valuable, and in the nineteenth century they
        were hunted extensively. The sea otter was hunted to near
        extinction by 1900, and is now protected. Fewer than 3,000
        sea otters are believed to live along the central
        California coast.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     2. (Zool.) The larva of the ghost moth. It is very injurious
        to hop vines.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Otter hound}, {Otter dog} (Zool.), a small breed of hounds,
        used in England for hunting otters; see {otterhound} .
  
     {Otter sheep}. See {Ancon sheep}, under {Ancon}.
  
     {Otter shell} (Zool.), very large bivalve mollusk
        ({Schizothaerus Nuttallii}) found on the northwest coast
        of America. It is excellent food, and is extensively used
        by the Indians.
  
     {Sea otter}. (Zool.) See in the Vocabulary.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Otter \Ot"ter\, n.
     A corruption of {Annotto}.
     [1913 Webster] otterhound

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  otter
       n 1: the fur of an otter
       2: freshwater carnivorous mammal having webbed and clawed feet
          and dark brown fur

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Otter, MT
    Zip code(s): 59062