litter

Meaning

1. The offspring of a mammal born in one birth.
2. Material used as bedding for animals.
3. Collectively, items discarded on the ground.
4. Absorbent material used in an animal's litter tray
5. Layer of fallen leaves and similar organic matter in a forest floor.
6. A platform mounted on two shafts, or a more elaborate construction, designed to be carried by two (or more) people to transport one (in luxury models sometimes more) third person(s) or (occasionally in the elaborate version) a cargo, such as a religious idol.
7. A covering of straw for plants.

bedding material

make dirty

give birth to

strecher

hand barrow

live up to

get dirty

have young

louse up

throw about

make full

be dazzled

multiple births

palki

put into disorder

cat litter

litter up

portable bed

hand frame

carrying hammock

dhooly

machila

strutcher

litter stretcher

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈlɪtə(ɹ)/

Inherited from Middle English

Cognate with French

In summary

From Middle English lytere, litere, from Anglo-Norman litiere, from Late Latin lectuāria (“bedding”), from Latin lectus (“bed”). Compare French litière. Had the sense of ‘bed’ in very early English, but then came to mean ‘portable couch’, ‘bedding’, ‘strewn rushes (for animals)’, etc.

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