litter

litter
{{11}}litter (n.) c.1300, "a bed," also "bed-like vehicle carried on men's shoulders" (early 14c.), from Anglo-Fr. litere "portable bed," O.Fr. litiere "litter, stretcher, bier; straw, bedding," from M.L. lectaria "litter" (altered in French by influence of lit "bed"), from L. lectus "bed, couch," from PIE *legh-to-, from root *legh- "to lie" (see LIE (Cf. lie) (v.2)).
Meaning extended early 15c. to "straw used for bedding" (early 14c. in Anglo-French) and late 15c. to "offspring of an animal at one birth" (in one bed); sense of "scattered oddments, disorderly debris" is first attested 1730, probably from M.E. verb literen "provide with bedding" (late 14c.), with notion of strewing straw. Litter by 19c. had come to mean both the straw bedding and the animal waste in it after use.
{{12}}litter (v.) late 14c., "provide with bedding," from LITTER (Cf. litter) (n.). Meaning "to strew with objects" is from 1713. Transitive sense of "to scatter in a disorderly way" is from 1731. Related: Littered; LITTERING (Cf. littering).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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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 — 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… …   Universalium

  • 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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