litter

litter
litterer, n.
/lit"euhr/, n.
1. objects strewn or scattered about; scattered rubbish.
2. a condition of disorder or untidiness: We were appalled at the litter of the room.
3. a number of young brought forth by a multiparous animal at one birth: a litter of six kittens..
4. a framework of cloth stretched between two parallel bars, for the transportation of a sick or wounded person; stretcher.
5. a vehicle carried by people or animals, consisting of a bed or couch, often covered and curtained, suspended between shafts.
6. straw, hay, or the like, used as bedding for animals or as protection for plants.
7. the layer of slightly decomposed organic material on the surface of the floor of the forest.
8. See cat litter.
9. pick of the litter,
a. the best or choicest of the animals, esp. puppies, in a litter.
b. the best of any class, group, or available selection.
v.t.
10. to strew (a place) with scattered objects, rubbish, etc.: to be fined for littering the sidewalk.
11. to scatter (objects) in disorder: They littered their toys from one end of the playroom to the other.
12. to be strewn about (a place) in disorder (often fol. by up): Bits of paper littered the floor.
13. to give birth to (young), as a multiparous animal.
14. to supply (an animal) with litter for a bed.
15. to use (straw, hay, etc.) for litter.
16. to cover (a floor or other area) with straw, hay, etc., for litter.
v.i.
17. to give birth to a litter: The cat had littered in the closet.
18. to strew objects about: If you litter, you may be fined.
[1250-1300; ME litere bed, litter < AF; OF litiere < ML lectaria, equiv. to L lect(us) bed + -aria fem. of -arius -ER2]
Syn. 2. clutter. 3. See brood. 10. mess (up). 11. disarrange, derange.

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bed
      portable bed or couch, open or enclosed, that is mounted on two poles and carried at each end on the shoulders of porters or by animals. Litters, which may have been adapted from sledges that were pushed or dragged on the ground, appear in Egyptian paintings and were used by the Persians; they are mentioned in the Book of Isaiah. Litters were also common in the Orient, where they were called palanquins. In ancient Rome, litters were reserved for empresses and senators' wives, and plebeians were forbidden to travel in them. By the 17th century, litters were plentiful in Europe; protection and privacy were provided by canopies held up by poles and by curtains or leather shields. The introduction of spring-mounted coaches ended the need for litters except as transport for the sick and wounded.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Litter — is waste disposed in the wrong place by unlawful human action and can vary in size of incident, occurrence or items. It can occur as small items like wrappers, large collections of waste or scatterings of litter dispersed around public places… …   Wikipedia

  • Litter — Lit ter (l[i^]t t[ e]r), n. [F. liti[ e]re, LL. lectaria, fr. L. lectus couch, bed. See {Lie} to be prostrated, and cf. {Coverlet}.] 1. A bed or stretcher so arranged that a person, esp. a sick or wounded person, may be easily carried in or upon… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Litter — Lit ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Littered} (l[i^]t t[ e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Littering}.] 1. To supply with litter, as cattle; to cover with litter, as the floor of a stall. [1913 Webster] Tell them how they litter their jades. Bp. Hackett. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Litter — Lit ter (l[i^]t t[ e]r), v. i. 1. To be supplied with litter as bedding; to sleep or make one s bed in litter. [R.] [1913 Webster] The inn Where he and his horse littered. Habington. [1913 Webster] 2. To produce a litter. [1913 Webster] A desert …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • litter — [n1] mess, debris clutter, collateral, confusion, detritus, disarray, disorder, garbage, hash, hodgepodge, jumble, jungle, junk, mishmash, muck, muddle, offal, rash, refuse, rubbish, rummage, scattering, scramble, shuffle, trash, untidiness,… …   New thesaurus

  • litter — ► NOUN 1) rubbish left in an open or public place. 2) an untidy collection of things. 3) a number of young born to an animal at one time. 4) (also cat litter) granular absorbent material lining a tray for a cat to urinate and defecate in indoors …   English terms dictionary

  • litter — [lit′ər] n. [ME litere < OFr litiere < ML literia, lectaria < L lectus, a couch: see LIE1] 1. a framework having long horizontal shafts near the bottom and enclosing a couch on which a person can be carried 2. a stretcher for carrying… …   English World dictionary

  • litter — lit|ter1 [ˈlıtə US ər] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(waste)¦ 2¦(baby animals)¦ 3¦(for cat s toilet)¦ 4¦(forest)¦ 5 a litter of something 6¦(for animal s bed)¦ 7¦(bed)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: litiere, from lit bed ] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • litter — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun … OF LITTER ▪ pile VERB + LITTER ▪ drop, leave ▪ Please do not leave litter after your picnic. ▪ clean up …   Collocations dictionary

  • litter — 01. There is a lot of [litter] on the streets around the high school. 02. Please don t [litter]; put your garbage in the containers provided. 03. Anyone caught [littering] will be subject to a minimum fine of $50. 04. The floor was [littered]… …   Grammatical examples in English

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