litter
a group of animals born at the same time to the same mother
TRANSLATION
litter = der Wurf litter = der Abfall (vor allem auf Straßen) --- GOOGLE INDEX litter: approximately 16,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
A LITTER of newborn puppies has been abandoned in Yorkshire, leading to an urgent appeal from a dog rescue charity.
(www.animalfriends.org.uk)
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The two tigers, Yuri and Sasha, went on to rear a LITTER of three cubs at the Highland Wildlife Park. They previously had six cubs.
(BBC News)
(www.animalfriends.org.uk)
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The two tigers, Yuri and Sasha, went on to rear a LITTER of three cubs at the Highland Wildlife Park. They previously had six cubs.
(BBC News)
Did you
know?
litter
noun
- a group of animals that are born at the same time and have the same mother
- small pieces of rubbish that have been left lying on the ground in public places
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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The word litter stems from the 14th century and originally referred to a bed-like vehicle carried on men's shoulders. It came from the French "litere," meaning portable bed and further from the Latin "lectus," a bed or couch.
The meaning was extended in the 15th century to refer to the straw used for bedding. This was then followed in the late 15th century by the sense of "the offspring of an animal at one birth." This likely came from the practice of placing newly-born animals onto straw to keep them warm.
The sense of "scattered oddments, disorderly debris" was first recorded in 1730. This probably came from the Middle English verb "literen," meaning to provide with bedding, with the notion of strewing straw.
(adapted from the Online Etymology Dictionary)
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SYNONYMS
(animals)
brood, cubs, family, young
(rubbish)
clutter, debris, garbage, rubbish, trash, waste
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Our dog just had a litter with seven puppies. Would you like one?"
noun
- a group of animals that are born at the same time and have the same mother
- small pieces of rubbish that have been left lying on the ground in public places
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
The word litter stems from the 14th century and originally referred to a bed-like vehicle carried on men's shoulders. It came from the French "litere," meaning portable bed and further from the Latin "lectus," a bed or couch.
The meaning was extended in the 15th century to refer to the straw used for bedding. This was then followed in the late 15th century by the sense of "the offspring of an animal at one birth." This likely came from the practice of placing newly-born animals onto straw to keep them warm.
The sense of "scattered oddments, disorderly debris" was first recorded in 1730. This probably came from the Middle English verb "literen," meaning to provide with bedding, with the notion of strewing straw.
(adapted from the Online Etymology Dictionary)
---
SYNONYMS
(animals)
brood, cubs, family, young
(rubbish)
clutter, debris, garbage, rubbish, trash, waste
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Our dog just had a litter with seven puppies. Would you like one?"
