littern.

Brit.

/ˈlɪtə/, U.S.

/ˈlɪdər/

Forms: Middle English–1600s liter(e, Middle English litir, littar, Middle English leter(e, letyr, lyttar, lyttere, lyttier, lyttyer, lyter(e, lytier, lytour, Middle English–1600s lytter, lyttre, 1500s litto(u)r, ( litre), (1500s–1600s licter, 1600s letter, lictier, licture, litour, littier, littre), Middle English– litter.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman litere, Old French litiere, (French litière) = Provençal leitiera, Spanish litera, Italian lettiera < medieval Latin lectāria, < Latin lectus (French lit) bed.

†1.

a. A bed. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > [noun]

restOE

bedc995

laira1000

couch1340

littera1400

libbege1567

pad1703

spond1763

fleabag1811

dab1812

snooze1819

downy1846

kip1879

the hay1903

Uncle Ned1925

rack1939

fart sack1943

sack1943

pit1948

uncle1982

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13817 Quen he had made me hale and fere, ‘Rise vp’, he said, ‘wit þi litere’.

a1400–50 Alexander 4910 All lemed of his letere þe loge as of heuen.

1440 J. Shirley Cron. Dethe James Stewarde (1818) 17 The traitours sought the Kyng..yn the withdrawyng chaumburs, yn the litters, undir the presses.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 57 Tho laye they doun on a lytier made of strawe, the foxe, hys wyf and hys chyldren wente alle to slepe.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiv. 176 Lo, here a lytter redy cled.

b. In technical use: A ‘bed’ or substratum of various materials.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > an underlying layer

substrature1726

substratum1730

understratum1731

litter1848

underlay1883

underlayer1896

substrate1918

1848 E. Ronalds & T. Richardson tr. F. Knapp Chem. Technol. I. 35 Having first made a litter of shingles, planks or billets, with a layer of charcoal powder several inches in thickness.

2. (a) A vehicle in use down to recent times, containing a couch shut in by curtains, and carried on men's shoulders or by beasts of burden. (b) A framework supporting a bed or couch for the transport of the sick and wounded.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [noun] > litter

litterc1330

saumbury1393

cabin1587

palanquin1588

norimon1616

dooliec1625

sedan1646

pavilion1656

takhtrawan1671

go-cart1676

palki1678

portantina1758

muncheel1807

machila1833

kago1857

dandy1870

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [noun] > litter > for sick or wounded

litterc1330

stretcher1845

c1330 Arth. & Merl. 8541 (Kölbing) Sche akeuered, par ma fay, & was yleyd in liter, Al mast liche an hors bere.

1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy ii. xx In a lytter made tho full royall..To cary hym softe and easyly.

1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur xix. vii He ordeyned lyttyers for the wounded knyghtes.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) ix. 106 In littar [1489 Adv. litter] thai [him] lay, And till the slevach held thair vay.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xviii. 301 Than thei ordeyned hir a litier vpon two palfrayes.

1502 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 28 Item a covering for a litter of blewe cloth of golde.

1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. P.iii^v In littour layd, they lead hym vnkouth wayes.

1606 P. Holland tr. Suetonius Hist. Twelve Caesars 51 A flash of lightning glaunced upon his licter, and struck his servant stone dead.

1637 J. Milton Comus 19 The litter of close-curtain'd sleepe.

1663 A. Wood Life 4 July The scutcheons on the litter hung on still.

1739 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) V. 18 To keep himself close shut up in his litter.

1808 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi i. 31 Found five litters in which sick or wounded men had been carried.

1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. (new ed.) I. 429 She was conveyed..in a litter, over which four knights held a canopy of cloth of gold.

1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 153 He soon made a comfortable litter in which to carry Elsie home.

3. Straw, rushes, or the like, serving as bedding.

†a. For human beings. to make litter of (one's life): to sacrifice lavishly (= French faire litière de). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > bedding > [noun] > grass or straw used as

bedstrawc1386

bed-litterc1425

litterc1440

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 307/2 Lytere of a bed, stratus, stratorium.

a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 435 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 313 Gromes palettis shyn fyle and make litere.

a1483 Liber Niger in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 41 The groome porter berith wood, strawe, rushes, for the King's chambre, making the King's litters of his bed.

1652 J. Howell tr. A. Giraffi Exact Hist. Late Revol. Naples (new ed.) ii. 119 Whereupon the said Duke offer'd to make litter of his life for the service of his Catholick Majesty the King.

1774 J. Collyer Hist. Eng. II. 126 John Baldwin held the manor of Oterarsee..by the service of finding litter for the king's bed, viz. in summer grass or herbs, and in winter straw.

b. For animals. In modern use also, the straw and dung together.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [noun] > bedding down

littering1382

litterc1430

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > [noun] > dirt removed in cleaning > dung removed from stables, etc. > mixed with straw

litter1845

1314–15 Rolls of Parl. I. 302/2 xxiii quarters de aveyn & de litter.]

c1430 J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Roxb.) 10 As pelows ben to chambres agreable So is harde strawe lytter for the stable.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 307/2 Lytere, or strowynge of horse, and other beestys, stramentum.

1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. C4 A little straw or litter bad inough for a dog to lie in.

1662 B. Gerbier Brief Disc. Princ. Building 35 The space which the Horse doth possess when in the night time he lyeth stretcht on his Litter.

1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner i. ii. xxiii. 54 To place daily under those Animals..a sufficient quantity of fresh New Straw, well spread, which is call'd making of Litter.

1733 J. Swift On Words Brother Protestants in Gentleman's Mag. 3 710 The generous wheat forgot his pride, And sail'd with litter side by side.

1809 W. Scott Misc. Prose Wks. (1870) IV. 124 There was no wood to burn and no litter or forage to be had for his horses.

1845 Florist's Jrnl. 6 127 Take some long litter from the dung heap.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 320 The litter of a farmyard gathered under the windows of his bed~chamber.

c. Hence applied to straw or similar materials used for other purposes, e.g. †as a component of plaster, †for thatch, or for the protection of plants.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > plants, grasses, or reeds > [noun] > for thatching

thacka900

wattlesc900

thatch1398

thackingc1440

litter1453

long straw1591

helm1669

thatching1671

straw1765

yelma1825

thatch-grass1884

the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > protective coverings for plants

pease-haulm1432

mulch1657

mattress1658

litter1666

weather-basket1699

Archangel mat1854

mulching1855

1453 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 160 Et de 2d. solut. pro liter pro dobura ibidem.

1486 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 255 For litter for dawbyng of þe same bothes.

1659 G. Torriano Florio's Vocabolario Italiano & Inglese Stípia,..licture, or thatch for cottages.

1666 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense (ed. 2) 25 Take off the Litter from your Kirnel-beds.

1706 G. London & H. Wise Retir'd Gard'ner I. iii. xiii. 304 Tulips..are protected..by Coverings of Straw, or long Litter.

1744 R. Pickering in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 43 100 Over the Bed, thus prepared, must constantly be kept a Covering of long new Litter..to preserve the Plant from the Frost.

1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 195 In frosty weather, protect the rows by fern leaves, long litter, or branches of evergreens.

1856 ‘E. S. Delamer’ Flower Garden 22 Agapanthus..may be permitted to remain throughout the winter in the open ground, under a covering of litter or leaves.

4. Odds and ends, fragments and leavings lying about, rubbish; a state of confusion or untidiness; a disorderly accumulation of things lying about.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun]

wrakea1350

outcastingc1350

rammel1370

rubble1376

mullockc1390

refusec1390

filtha1398

outcasta1398

chaff?a1400

rubbishc1400

wastec1430

drossc1440

raff?1440

rascal1440

murgeonc1450

wrack1472

gear1489

garblec1503

scowl1538

raffle1543

baggage1549

garbage1549

peltry1550

gubbins?1553

lastage1553

scruff1559

retraict1575

ross1577

riddings1584

ket1586

scouring1588

pelf1589

offal1598

rummage1598

dog's meat1606

retriment1615

spitling1620

recrement1622

mundungus1637

sordes1640

muskings1649

rejectament1654

offscouring1655

brat1656

relicts1687

offage1727

litter1730

rejectamenta1795

outwale1825

detritus1834

junk1836

wastements1843

croke1847–78

sculch1847

debris1851

rumble1854

flotsam1861

jetsam1861

pelt1880

offcasting1893

rubbishry1894

littering1897

muckings1898

wastage1898

dreck1905

bruck1929

crap1934

garbo1953

clobber1965

dooky1965

grot1971

tippings-

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > absence of arrangement > [noun] > a disorderly collection

rabblea1398

hotchpotc1405

hotchpotchc1410

mishmashc1475

gaggle?1478

chaos?1550

humble-jumble1550

huddle1587

wilderness1594

lurry1607

hatterc1626

farragoa1637

bumble1648

higgledy-piggledy1659

jumble1661

clutter1666

hugger-mugger1674

litter1730

imbroglio1753

confusion1791

cludder1801

hurrah's nest1829

hotter1834

welter1857

muddle1863

splatter1895

shamble1926

1730 J. Swift Lady's Dressing-room 8 Strephon..took a strict survey Of all the litter as it lay.

1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews II. iv. ix. 242 She was ashamed to be seen in such a Pickle,..her House was in such a Litter .

1796 C. Marshall Introd. Knowl. & Pract. Gardening xx. 397 Drying flowers, all litter, and everything unsightly, admonish the gardener to trim his plants.

1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 232 They [silkworms] must be well cleansed from the litter.

1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 293 He [sc. Turner]..enjoyed and looked for litter... His pictures are often full of it.

1868 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. I. 347 An old pamphlet among the litter of the abbot's study.

1894 H. Caine Manxman iii. xvii. 182 The kitchen was covered with the litter of dressmakers preparing for the wedding.

a. The whole number of young brought forth at a birth.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > family unit > [noun] > offspring or young > born at same time

teamOE

litter1486

brodmella1522

breed1574

kindling1865

1486 Bk. St. Albans F vj A Litter of welpis.

1550 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue (new ed.) ii. xi. sig. Bvii^v The litter is lyke to the syre and the damme.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 12 I do here walk before thee, like a sow that hath ouerwhelmd al her litter but one.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 220 The best of the whole litter is that whelpe that is last ere it begin to see.

a1627 T. Middleton Witch (1945) i. ii. 246 Seaven of their yong Piggs..of the last Littor.

1698 E. Tyson in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 20 123 Possibly this Subject never had a Litter.

1731 Gentleman's Mag. 1 352 A Litter of young Lions was whelp'd at the Tower.

1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xiv. 276 In the sow, the bitch, the rabbit,..which have numerous litters, the paps are numerous.

1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) iii. ii. 86 The hunter may reserve some single cub From out the tiger's litter.

1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species i. 10 Strongly-marked differences occasionally appear in the young of the same litter.

figurative and in extended use.1565 T. Harding Confut. Apol. Church of Eng. iv. xx. f. 219 Verely a man might thinke this booke was set forth by some ennemye of our newe english clergy,..had not them selues..acknowledged it for a whelpe of their one littour.a1639 W. Whately Prototypes (1640) i. xix. 223 That abhominable litter and broode of sinnes which have their originall in mans heart.1663 R. South Serm. preached Nov. 9, 1662 35 Let him reflect upon that numerous litter of strange, sense-lesse, absurd Opinions, that crawle about the world.1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. Pref. sig. B^v Are they as inapprehensive, and of the same litter with the former.1688 Vox Cleri Pro Rege Pref. sig. A ij In the time when Hawkers were loaded with whole Litters of Pamphlets.1699 T. Brown tr. Erasmus Seven New Colloquies v. 50 A Servant maid, and a Litter of Children.1796 E. Burke Two Lett. Peace Regicide Directory France iii, in Wks. (1808) VIII. 282 To bring into an happy birth her abundant litter of constitutions.1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss I. i. viii. 137 When a man had married into a family where there was a whole litter of women, he might have plenty to put up with if he choose.

†b. An act of bringing forth young: usually in at a or one litter. Said of animals only.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [noun] > bringing forth young

breeding1387

whelping1398

broodc1440

feture?1440

litterc1440

littering1542

fall1593

litterage1601

cast1646

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 307/2 Lytere or forthe brynggynge of beestys, fetus, fetura.

1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires vi. 99 The Thirty Pigs at one large Litter Farrow'd.

1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 91 The female produces from three to six young ones at a litter.

Compounds

General attributive.

C1. (In sense 2.)

litter-bearer n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > [noun] > by a person > litter- or palanquin-bearer

litter-man1505

litter-bearer1552

palanquin boy1698

bearer1727

hamal1757

palki bearer1779

palanquin-bearer1792

1552 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Lecticariola, she that attendeth on a licter bearer.

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. III 14 He shut his eyes, and now no more could hear His litter-bearers' feet.

litter-bier n.

ΚΠ

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 75 Yet raised and laid him on a litter-bier.

litter-car n.

ΚΠ

1812 R. Wilson Private Diary I. 140 Two of my dragoons..got into the litter-cars of the country.

litter-gelding n.

ΚΠ

1836 Devon Issue Exch. James I 319 A litter-gelding for the Queen's litter.

litter-man n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > [noun] > by a person > litter- or palanquin-bearer

litter-man1505

litter-bearer1552

palanquin boy1698

bearer1727

hamal1757

palki bearer1779

palanquin-bearer1792

1505 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1901) III. 97 Item, for ij steikis chamlot to the Quenis tua littar men..viij^li.

1647 L. Haward Charges Crown Revenue 33 Six Littermen: Fee a peice 10l.

1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) ii. 137 Augustus Cesar..had escaped a thunderclap which killed his Litterman close by him.

1707 J. Chamberlayne Angliæ Notitia (ed. 22) iii. xi. 440 All belonging to the Stables, as Coachmen, Footmen, Littermen, Postilions, &c.

litter-window n.

ΚΠ

a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 42 Keep His litter-window shut, and he can sleep.

C2.

litter-wise adv.

ΚΠ

1626 F. Bacon New Atlantis 29 in Sylua Syluarum He was carried in a rich Chariott, without Wheeles, Litter-wise.

C3. (In sense 3.)

litter-cutting n.

ΚΠ

1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 396 Two-knife cane-top litter and chaff-cutting machine.

C4. (In sense 4.)

litter-bag n.

ΚΠ

1968 Punch 19 June 892/2 Drop it sadly in your heavy white kraft paper car litterbag.

litter-basket n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse

vat1534

voider1613

waste-paper box1836

dustbin1847

kid1847

waste-basket1850

scrap-box1858

waste-paper basket1859

garbage can1869

can1872

hell1872

scrap basket1872

sink tidy1881

tidy-betty1884

kitchen tidy1885

midden1890

wagger1903

W.P.B.1903

waste-bin1915

Sanibin1921

binette1922

G.I. can1929

trash can1929

trashbag1934

litter-bin1947

shitcan1948

pedal bin1951

trash-bin1955

litter-basket1958

midgie1965

bin1972

swing bin1972

tidy bin1972

dump bin1978

wheelie bin1984

binbag1986

1958 J. Cannan And be Villain vii. 160 Oh, the mess they leave on our little common..in spite of the litter baskets.

1972 J. Brown Chancer xiv. 191 There's a row of litter baskets each side of the gates.

litter-bin n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse

vat1534

voider1613

waste-paper box1836

dustbin1847

kid1847

waste-basket1850

scrap-box1858

waste-paper basket1859

garbage can1869

can1872

hell1872

scrap basket1872

sink tidy1881

tidy-betty1884

kitchen tidy1885

midden1890

wagger1903

W.P.B.1903

waste-bin1915

Sanibin1921

binette1922

G.I. can1929

trash can1929

trashbag1934

litter-bin1947

shitcan1948

pedal bin1951

trash-bin1955

litter-basket1958

midgie1965

bin1972

swing bin1972

tidy bin1972

dump bin1978

wheelie bin1984

binbag1986

1947 Archit. Rev. 102 198 (caption) On the right a typical litter-bin.

1972 Guardian 28 Jan. 5/6 Clerical staff..have been..sweeping up, and emptying litter bins.

litter-box n.

ΚΠ

1953 News Chron. 2 June 4/4 What a mess there will be on Coronation Day unless people use the litter-boxes.

litter-bug n. bug n.² 4a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > pollution or defilement > environmental pollution > [noun] > dropping litter > one who

litter-lout1927

litterer1928

litter-bug1947

1947 N.Y. Herald-Tribune 16 Feb. 2/7 (heading) 47,000 subway ‘litterbugs’ pay $107,000 in fines in 1946 drive.

1959 Times 23 July 7/7 I rate such persons in the same category as litter bugs.

1971 Guardian 8 Dec. 24/8 He picks up any litter he can find..and he is apt to give litter-bugs a severe dressing-down.

litter-carrier n.

ΚΠ

1915 J. London Let. 26 Jan. (1966) 445 He has no litter-carriers to carry manure.

litter-cart n.

ΚΠ

1967 ‘G. North’ Sgt. Cluff & Day of Reckoning ii. 18 A small, cloth-capped man guiding a battery-propelled litter-cart.

litter-lout n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > pollution or defilement > environmental pollution > [noun] > dropping litter > one who

litter-lout1927

litterer1928

litter-bug1947

1927 Children's Newspaper 25 June 8/2 It is time the Litter Lout was taken seriously in hand.

1972 Guardian 29 Mar. 24/1 The packaging industry had been made a scapegoat for the actions of the litter lout.

C5. (In sense 5.)

litter-mate n.

ΚΠ

1921 Genetics 6 122 These are assumed to be litter-mates for whom all or nearly all tangible environmental factors may be assumed to be in common.

1946 Nature 24 Aug. 258/2 A biological test of a solution in arachis oil of the vitamin A thus obtained showed growth-promoting activity in rats (ten litter-mate growth comparisons) of the order indicated by spectroscopic assay.

1972 Sci. Amer. Feb. 22/3 Rodents are small, inexpensive and bear large litters, so that littermates with the same genetic background can be assigned to different conditions.

litter-sister n.

ΚΠ

1897 Sketch 24 Nov. 192 The puppy..is a litter-sister to the then ten-weeks-old Wayward.

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 1 Mar. 79/2 Mr. G. H. Lewis was not to be denied in the junior class, litter-sisters from him..taking first and second places.

1973 Country Life 15 Feb. 385/1 Miss S. G. Weall's fawn dog..collected two firsts and his litter sister..two seconds.

Draft additions 1997

Decomposing but still recognizable vegetable debris that has fallen from trees and other plants and forms a distinct layer above the soil, esp. on the floor of a forest. See also leaf litter n. at leaf n.¹ Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > topsoil > litter

leaf litter1853

litter1905

litterfall1967

1905 Terms Forestry & Logging (Bull. U.S. Dept. Agric., Bureau Forestry, No. 61) 14 Litter, that portion of the forest floor which is not in an advanced state of decomposition.

1938 J. E. Weaver & F. E. Clements Plant Ecol. (ed. 2) viii. 184 Litter comprises the upper portion of the forest floor, slightly or not at all decomposed. The more or less decomposed organic matter just beneath the litter constitutes a layer of duff.

1947 R. F. Daubenmire Plants & Environment ii. 25 Just beneath the fresh litter may be found a layer derived from the preceding seasons' litter in which the processes of disintegration seem actively at work.

1974 Nature 4 Jan. 3/2 If stress is low, then grasslands become dominated by species of high physical competitive ability, that is species which grow rapidly, are robust and produce dense litter.

1990 Forest Resources Arizona (U.S. Dept. Agric. Forest Service) 31 Descriptive locational observations on litter depth..were made at each field location to get an idea of the general condition and stability of the woodland soil resource in the State.

Draft additions 1997

litter case n. a person too ill or badly injured to walk, who is carried on a litter (sense 2b above): cf. stretcher case n. at stretcher n. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > sick person > [noun] > needing conveyance

stretcher case1917

litter case1944

wheelchair patient1970

wheelie1977

wheelchair wounded1982

1944 Sun (Baltimore) 9 June 2/3 First to be unloaded on the pier were the litter cases—seriously injured and dying.

1966 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 24 Dec. (1970) 464 A litter case came down the steps [of the ambulance plane] and a young man raised his head.

Draft additions January 2005

= cat litter n. at cat n.¹ Additions.

ΚΠ

1959 New Oxford (Pa.) Item 15 Jan. 5/5 (advt.) Pet supplies. Cat comfort. The absorbent litter that deodorizes.

1986 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Aug. Outside in the tiny corridor are meat tins, litter and basket for her cat.

2001 B. Dibra & E. Randolph CatSpeak v. 85 A good, sturdy, lined litter box is just as important as a carrying case; so is its location and the litter in it.

Draft additions January 2005

litter box n. a shallow container, typically filled with cat litter, for a domestic cat or other pet to use for urination or defecation when indoors.

ΚΠ

1959 Herald (Chicago) 30 Apr. (Classified section) 11/3 (advt.) Kittens to be given away. Litter-box trained.

2002 L. Wener Goodnight Steve McQueen lx. 271 He's taken to after-gig slutting like a cat to its very first litter box.

Draft additions January 2005

litter tray n. chiefly British = litter box n. at Additions.

ΚΠ

1964 News (Frederick, Maryland) 22 Apr. 5/6 (advt.) Wanted—Home for 6 week old kitten. House broken. Will give litter tray and double dish with kitten.

1983 Times 21 Feb. 10/5 Someone burst a balloon in my right ear and I nearly jumped into my cats' litter tray.

2000 Petcare Jan. 4/3 If you notice that your rabbit is going to the toilet in a different place to the litter tray, then simply move the litter tray to your rabbit's chosen spot.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

litterv.

Brit.

/ˈlɪtə/, U.S.

/ˈlɪdər/

Etymology: < litter n.

†1. transitive. To carry in a litter. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > transport or convey by carrying [verb (transitive)] > convey by carrying (of person) > a person > in a litter

litter1708

1708 W. Darrell Suppl. to 1st Pt. Gentleman Instructed iii. 27 These Pagan Ladies were litter'd to Campus Martius, ours are coacht to Hide-Park.

2. To furnish (a horse, etc.) with litter or straw for his bed; humorously, to provide (a person) with a bed. Also to litter down.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > bed down

littera1398

strawc1440

bedc1480

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xli. 1190 The colte is nouȝt ylitered wiþ strawe, nouþer ycorrayed wiþ horse combe.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 374 It shal be necessary to keepe him warme..by littering him vp to the belly with fresh straw.

a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) ii. 30 Tell them how they litter their Jades and exercise Merchandize in the House of God.

1737 H. Bracken Farriery Improved viii. 131 Bedding or littering him down with dry clean Straw.

1799 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1893) XIV. 220 That the stock may be well fed,—littered,—and taken care of according to the directions.

1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg i, in New Monthly Mag. 60 85 One is litter'd under a roof, Neither wind nor water proof.

1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 221 Let him be returned to the stable, littered down.

1861 S. Smiles Lives Engineers II. 112 Thrashing straw to litter the large stock of cattle he had on hand.

absolute.1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 41^v Al kinde of strawe, is good to litter withall.figurative and in extended use.1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 129 I love the browning bough to see That litters autumn's dying bed.

3. intransitive. To lie down on a bed or on litter. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of lying down or reclining > lie down or recline [verb (intransitive)] > on a bed or litter

litter1634

1634 W. Habington Castara ii. 72 The Inne, Where he and his horse litter'd.

1858 W. Arnot Laws from Heaven II. 279 That poor wretch..has a number of children littering in the hovel which they call their home.

4. transitive.

†a. To compound (plaster) with or as with litter. (Cf. litter n. 3c.) Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > clad or cover [verb (transitive)] > plaster > processes involved in plastering

litter1559

gauge1686

to prick up1779

key1837

stab1846

1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 65 Some use pure clay littered with ox heare.

b. To plaster.Apparently an isolated use.

ΚΠ

1862 J. Skelton Nugæ Criticæ i. 60 The hovels of the natives were built of turf, littered with mud.

5. To cover with litter. Also with down.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter loosely or strew > strew (a surface) with something > with specific substance

rusha1325

belitter1655

litter1700

verbenate1829

1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Cock & Fox in Fables 231 But for his ease, well litter'd was the Floor.

1813 Sporting Mag. 42 55 A loose stable, well littered down with fresh straw.

1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. iii. 38/1 Mind, which grows, not like a vegetable (by having its roots littered with etymological compost), but like a Spirit.

a. To cover as with litter, to strew with objects scattered in disorder. Also with round, over, up.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > absence of arrangement > disarrange [verb (transitive)] > cover (as) with objects in disorder

litter1726

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter (a surface) with something > with things in disorder

litter1726

the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > untidiness > make untidy [verb (transitive)] > clutter or litter

clutter1674

litter1726

1726 J. Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 18 They found, The Room with Volumes litter'd round.

1770 S. Foote Lame Lover ii. 29 You know how angry your mother is at their rapping, and littering the house.

1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 280 Littering with unfolded silks The polished counter.

1825 W. Scott Let. 17 May (1935) IX. 118 We must not litter up your house..as we can always get into a hotel.

1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities ii. v. 57 A dingy room lined with books and littered with papers.

1883 J. A. Froude Short Stud. IV. i. iv. 49 Dinner was over. The floor was littered with rushes and fragments of rolls and broken meat.

1888 Mrs. H. Ward Robert Elsmere I. i. iv. 90 The house was littered over with stanzas from the opening canto of a great poem on Columbus.

1890 A. Conan Doyle Sign of Four v. 84 The table was littered over with Bunsen burners, test-tubes, and retorts.

1895 E. A. Parkes Care Health 35 Serving merely to litter up the surface of the earth.

b. To scatter in disorder about, on, over.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter (things) about in disorder

scatterc1330

sparplea1350

tedc1560

straggle1589

squatter1611

disparple1613

flurr1661

litter1734

1734 J. Swift Strephon & Cloe in Beautiful Young Nymph 23 View them litter'd on the Floor, Or strung on Pegs behind the Door.

1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 31 Firewood and shavings lay littered about the floors.

1883 R. Gower My Reminisc. I. xviii. 358 A room..which we found full of soldiers asleep littered over the floor.

c. Of things: To lie about in disorder upon.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > absence of arrangement > disarrange [verb (transitive)] > cover (as) with objects in disorder > lie in disorder upon

litter1856

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter (things) about in disorder > lie scattered in disorder upon

litter1856

the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > untidiness > make untidy [verb (transitive)] > clutter or litter > lie about in disorder upon

litter1856

1856 C. J. Lever Martins of Cro' Martin ii. 14 Pieces of stuccoed tracery..littered the garden and the terrace.

1882 B. D. W. Ramsay Recoll. Mil. Serv. II. xiv. 41 Papers, belonging to our various departments under him, littering his table.

1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xli. 58 Or littering far the fields of May Lady-smocks a-bleaching lay.

a. Of animals, occasionally transferred in contemptuous use of human beings: To bring forth (young).

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [verb (intransitive)] > bring forth young

belittera1325

whelp1398

fawn1481

litter1484

kitten1495

kittle1530

yean1548

dam1577

farrow1580

cub1755

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. ix Whan the bytche had lyttred her lytyl dogges.

1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxvii. 187 She doth lytter them deepe vnder the ground, & so the Wolf doth not.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. i. 238 I would they were Barbarians, as they are, Though in Rome litter'd .

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 283 Saue for the Son, that [s]he did littour heere, A frekelld whelpe, hag-borne.

1622 J. Donne Serm. (1959) IV. 271 Lyons are litterd perfit, but Beare-whelpes lick'd vnto their shape.

1867 S. Smiles Huguenots Eng. & Ireland iv. 90 Wolves littered their young in the deserted farm-houses.

1874 Supernat. Relig. I. i. iv. 112 He must take the after-birth of a black cat, which has been littered by a first-born black cat.

figurative.1814 Orpheus iii. i, in J. Galt New Brit. Theatre III. 299 For now I see Calamity is littering plagues to me.

b. absol. or intransitive.

ΚΠ

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. ix A bytche which wold lyttre and be delyuerd of her lytyl dogges.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 37 Pliny precisely affirmeth, that they litter the thirtith daie after their conception.

1733 J. Swift On Poetry 5 Infants dropt, the spurious Pledges Of Gipsies littering under Hedges.

1848 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii, in Wks. (1866) II. 504 If ever it [Kerry] was mentioned, it was mentioned as a horrible desert..where the she wolf still littered.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	litter
释义	littern. Brit. /ˈlɪtə/, U.S. /ˈlɪdər/ Forms: Middle English–1600s liter(e, Middle English litir, littar, Middle English leter(e, letyr, lyttar, lyttere, lyttier, lyttyer, lyter(e, lytier, lytour, Middle English–1600s lytter, lyttre, 1500s litto(u)r, ( litre), (1500s–1600s licter, 1600s letter, lictier, licture, litour, littier, littre), Middle English– litter. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman litere, Old French litiere, (French litière) = Provençal leitiera, Spanish litera, Italian lettiera < medieval Latin lectāria, < Latin lectus (French lit) bed. †1. a. A bed. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > [noun] restOE bedc995 laira1000 couch1340 littera1400 libbege1567 pad1703 spond1763 fleabag1811 dab1812 snooze1819 downy1846 kip1879 the hay1903 Uncle Ned1925 rack1939 fart sack1943 sack1943 pit1948 uncle1982 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13817 Quen he had made me hale and fere, ‘Rise vp’, he said, ‘wit þi litere’. a1400–50 Alexander 4910 All lemed of his letere þe loge as of heuen. 1440 J. Shirley Cron. Dethe James Stewarde (1818) 17 The traitours sought the Kyng..yn the withdrawyng chaumburs, yn the litters, undir the presses. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 57 Tho laye they doun on a lytier made of strawe, the foxe, hys wyf and hys chyldren wente alle to slepe. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xiv. 176 Lo, here a lytter redy cled. b. In technical use: A ‘bed’ or substratum of various materials. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > an underlying layer substrature1726 substratum1730 understratum1731 litter1848 underlay1883 underlayer1896 substrate1918 1848 E. Ronalds & T. Richardson tr. F. Knapp Chem. Technol. I. 35 Having first made a litter of shingles, planks or billets, with a layer of charcoal powder several inches in thickness. 2. (a) A vehicle in use down to recent times, containing a couch shut in by curtains, and carried on men's shoulders or by beasts of burden. (b) A framework supporting a bed or couch for the transport of the sick and wounded. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [noun] > litter litterc1330 saumbury1393 cabin1587 palanquin1588 norimon1616 dooliec1625 sedan1646 pavilion1656 takhtrawan1671 go-cart1676 palki1678 portantina1758 muncheel1807 machila1833 kago1857 dandy1870 society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > conveyance carried by person or animal > [noun] > litter > for sick or wounded litterc1330 stretcher1845 c1330 Arth. & Merl. 8541 (Kölbing) Sche akeuered, par ma fay, & was yleyd in liter, Al mast liche an hors bere. 1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy ii. xx In a lytter made tho full royall..To cary hym softe and easyly. 1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur xix. vii He ordeyned lyttyers for the wounded knyghtes. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) ix. 106 In littar [1489 Adv. litter] thai [him] lay, And till the slevach held thair vay. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xviii. 301 Than thei ordeyned hir a litier vpon two palfrayes. 1502 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 28 Item a covering for a litter of blewe cloth of golde. 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. P.iii^v In littour layd, they lead hym vnkouth wayes. 1606 P. Holland tr. Suetonius Hist. Twelve Caesars 51 A flash of lightning glaunced upon his licter, and struck his servant stone dead. 1637 J. Milton Comus 19 The litter of close-curtain'd sleepe. 1663 A. Wood Life 4 July The scutcheons on the litter hung on still. 1739 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) V. 18 To keep himself close shut up in his litter. 1808 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi i. 31 Found five litters in which sick or wounded men had been carried. 1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. (new ed.) I. 429 She was conveyed..in a litter, over which four knights held a canopy of cloth of gold. 1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 153 He soon made a comfortable litter in which to carry Elsie home. 3. Straw, rushes, or the like, serving as bedding. †a. For human beings. to make litter of (one's life): to sacrifice lavishly (= French faire litière de). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > bedding > [noun] > grass or straw used as bedstrawc1386 bed-litterc1425 litterc1440 c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 307/2 Lytere of a bed, stratus, stratorium. a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 435 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 313 Gromes palettis shyn fyle and make litere. a1483 Liber Niger in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 41 The groome porter berith wood, strawe, rushes, for the King's chambre, making the King's litters of his bed. 1652 J. Howell tr. A. Giraffi Exact Hist. Late Revol. Naples (new ed.) ii. 119 Whereupon the said Duke offer'd to make litter of his life for the service of his Catholick Majesty the King. 1774 J. Collyer Hist. Eng. II. 126 John Baldwin held the manor of Oterarsee..by the service of finding litter for the king's bed, viz. in summer grass or herbs, and in winter straw. b. For animals. In modern use also, the straw and dung together. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [noun] > bedding down littering1382 litterc1430 the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > [noun] > dirt removed in cleaning > dung removed from stables, etc. > mixed with straw litter1845 1314–15 Rolls of Parl. I. 302/2 xxiii quarters de aveyn & de litter.] c1430 J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Roxb.) 10 As pelows ben to chambres agreable So is harde strawe lytter for the stable. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 307/2 Lytere, or strowynge of horse, and other beestys, stramentum. 1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. C4 A little straw or litter bad inough for a dog to lie in. 1662 B. Gerbier Brief Disc. Princ. Building 35 The space which the Horse doth possess when in the night time he lyeth stretcht on his Litter. 1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner i. ii. xxiii. 54 To place daily under those Animals..a sufficient quantity of fresh New Straw, well spread, which is call'd making of Litter. 1733 J. Swift On Words Brother Protestants in Gentleman's Mag. 3 710 The generous wheat forgot his pride, And sail'd with litter side by side. 1809 W. Scott Misc. Prose Wks. (1870) IV. 124 There was no wood to burn and no litter or forage to be had for his horses. 1845 Florist's Jrnl. 6 127 Take some long litter from the dung heap. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 320 The litter of a farmyard gathered under the windows of his bed~chamber. c. Hence applied to straw or similar materials used for other purposes, e.g. †as a component of plaster, †for thatch, or for the protection of plants. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > plants, grasses, or reeds > [noun] > for thatching thacka900 wattlesc900 thatch1398 thackingc1440 litter1453 long straw1591 helm1669 thatching1671 straw1765 yelma1825 thatch-grass1884 the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > protective coverings for plants pease-haulm1432 mulch1657 mattress1658 litter1666 weather-basket1699 Archangel mat1854 mulching1855 1453 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 160 Et de 2d. solut. pro liter pro dobura ibidem. 1486 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 255 For litter for dawbyng of þe same bothes. 1659 G. Torriano Florio's Vocabolario Italiano & Inglese Stípia,..licture, or thatch for cottages. 1666 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense (ed. 2) 25 Take off the Litter from your Kirnel-beds. 1706 G. London & H. Wise Retir'd Gard'ner I. iii. xiii. 304 Tulips..are protected..by Coverings of Straw, or long Litter. 1744 R. Pickering in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 43 100 Over the Bed, thus prepared, must constantly be kept a Covering of long new Litter..to preserve the Plant from the Frost. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 195 In frosty weather, protect the rows by fern leaves, long litter, or branches of evergreens. 1856 ‘E. S. Delamer’ Flower Garden 22 Agapanthus..may be permitted to remain throughout the winter in the open ground, under a covering of litter or leaves. 4. Odds and ends, fragments and leavings lying about, rubbish; a state of confusion or untidiness; a disorderly accumulation of things lying about. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] wrakea1350 outcastingc1350 rammel1370 rubble1376 mullockc1390 refusec1390 filtha1398 outcasta1398 chaff?a1400 rubbishc1400 wastec1430 drossc1440 raff?1440 rascal1440 murgeonc1450 wrack1472 gear1489 garblec1503 scowl1538 raffle1543 baggage1549 garbage1549 peltry1550 gubbins?1553 lastage1553 scruff1559 retraict1575 ross1577 riddings1584 ket1586 scouring1588 pelf1589 offal1598 rummage1598 dog's meat1606 retriment1615 spitling1620 recrement1622 mundungus1637 sordes1640 muskings1649 rejectament1654 offscouring1655 brat1656 relicts1687 offage1727 litter1730 rejectamenta1795 outwale1825 detritus1834 junk1836 wastements1843 croke1847–78 sculch1847 debris1851 rumble1854 flotsam1861 jetsam1861 pelt1880 offcasting1893 rubbishry1894 littering1897 muckings1898 wastage1898 dreck1905 bruck1929 crap1934 garbo1953 clobber1965 dooky1965 grot1971 tippings- the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > absence of arrangement > [noun] > a disorderly collection rabblea1398 hotchpotc1405 hotchpotchc1410 mishmashc1475 gaggle?1478 chaos?1550 humble-jumble1550 huddle1587 wilderness1594 lurry1607 hatterc1626 farragoa1637 bumble1648 higgledy-piggledy1659 jumble1661 clutter1666 hugger-mugger1674 litter1730 imbroglio1753 confusion1791 cludder1801 hurrah's nest1829 hotter1834 welter1857 muddle1863 splatter1895 shamble1926 1730 J. Swift Lady's Dressing-room 8 Strephon..took a strict survey Of all the litter as it lay. 1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews II. iv. ix. 242 She was ashamed to be seen in such a Pickle,..her House was in such a Litter . View more context for this quotation 1796 C. Marshall Introd. Knowl. & Pract. Gardening xx. 397 Drying flowers, all litter, and everything unsightly, admonish the gardener to trim his plants. 1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 232 They [silkworms] must be well cleansed from the litter. 1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 293 He [sc. Turner]..enjoyed and looked for litter... His pictures are often full of it. 1868 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. I. 347 An old pamphlet among the litter of the abbot's study. 1894 H. Caine Manxman iii. xvii. 182 The kitchen was covered with the litter of dressmakers preparing for the wedding. 5. a. The whole number of young brought forth at a birth. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > family unit > [noun] > offspring or young > born at same time teamOE litter1486 brodmella1522 breed1574 kindling1865 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vj A Litter of welpis. 1550 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue (new ed.) ii. xi. sig. Bvii^v The litter is lyke to the syre and the damme. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 12 I do here walk before thee, like a sow that hath ouerwhelmd al her litter but one. View more context for this quotation 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 220 The best of the whole litter is that whelpe that is last ere it begin to see. a1627 T. Middleton Witch (1945) i. ii. 246 Seaven of their yong Piggs..of the last Littor. 1698 E. Tyson in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 20 123 Possibly this Subject never had a Litter. 1731 Gentleman's Mag. 1 352 A Litter of young Lions was whelp'd at the Tower. 1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xiv. 276 In the sow, the bitch, the rabbit,..which have numerous litters, the paps are numerous. 1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) iii. ii. 86 The hunter may reserve some single cub From out the tiger's litter. 1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species i. 10 Strongly-marked differences occasionally appear in the young of the same litter. figurative and in extended use.1565 T. Harding Confut. Apol. Church of Eng. iv. xx. f. 219 Verely a man might thinke this booke was set forth by some ennemye of our newe english clergy,..had not them selues..acknowledged it for a whelpe of their one littour.a1639 W. Whately Prototypes (1640) i. xix. 223 That abhominable litter and broode of sinnes which have their originall in mans heart.1663 R. South Serm. preached Nov. 9, 1662 35 Let him reflect upon that numerous litter of strange, sense-lesse, absurd Opinions, that crawle about the world.1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. Pref. sig. B^v Are they as inapprehensive, and of the same litter with the former.1688 Vox Cleri Pro Rege Pref. sig. A ij In the time when Hawkers were loaded with whole Litters of Pamphlets.1699 T. Brown tr. Erasmus Seven New Colloquies v. 50 A Servant maid, and a Litter of Children.1796 E. Burke Two Lett. Peace Regicide Directory France iii, in Wks. (1808) VIII. 282 To bring into an happy birth her abundant litter of constitutions.1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss I. i. viii. 137 When a man had married into a family where there was a whole litter of women, he might have plenty to put up with if he choose. †b. An act of bringing forth young: usually in at a or one litter. Said of animals only. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [noun] > bringing forth young breeding1387 whelping1398 broodc1440 feture?1440 litterc1440 littering1542 fall1593 litterage1601 cast1646 c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 307/2 Lytere or forthe brynggynge of beestys, fetus, fetura. 1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires vi. 99 The Thirty Pigs at one large Litter Farrow'd. 1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 91 The female produces from three to six young ones at a litter. Compounds General attributive. C1. (In sense 2.) litter-bearer n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > [noun] > by a person > litter- or palanquin-bearer litter-man1505 litter-bearer1552 palanquin boy1698 bearer1727 hamal1757 palki bearer1779 palanquin-bearer1792 1552 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) Lecticariola, she that attendeth on a licter bearer. 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. III 14 He shut his eyes, and now no more could hear His litter-bearers' feet. litter-bier n. ΚΠ 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 75 Yet raised and laid him on a litter-bier. litter-car n. ΚΠ 1812 R. Wilson Private Diary I. 140 Two of my dragoons..got into the litter-cars of the country. litter-gelding n. ΚΠ 1836 Devon Issue Exch. James I 319 A litter-gelding for the Queen's litter. litter-man n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > [noun] > by a person > litter- or palanquin-bearer litter-man1505 litter-bearer1552 palanquin boy1698 bearer1727 hamal1757 palki bearer1779 palanquin-bearer1792 1505 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1901) III. 97 Item, for ij steikis chamlot to the Quenis tua littar men..viij^li. 1647 L. Haward Charges Crown Revenue 33 Six Littermen: Fee a peice 10l. 1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) ii. 137 Augustus Cesar..had escaped a thunderclap which killed his Litterman close by him. 1707 J. Chamberlayne Angliæ Notitia (ed. 22) iii. xi. 440 All belonging to the Stables, as Coachmen, Footmen, Littermen, Postilions, &c. litter-window n. ΚΠ a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 42 Keep His litter-window shut, and he can sleep. C2. litter-wise adv. ΚΠ 1626 F. Bacon New Atlantis 29 in Sylua Syluarum He was carried in a rich Chariott, without Wheeles, Litter-wise. C3. (In sense 3.) litter-cutting n. ΚΠ 1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 396 Two-knife cane-top litter and chaff-cutting machine. C4. (In sense 4.) litter-bag n. ΚΠ 1968 Punch 19 June 892/2 Drop it sadly in your heavy white kraft paper car litterbag. litter-basket n. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse vat1534 voider1613 waste-paper box1836 dustbin1847 kid1847 waste-basket1850 scrap-box1858 waste-paper basket1859 garbage can1869 can1872 hell1872 scrap basket1872 sink tidy1881 tidy-betty1884 kitchen tidy1885 midden1890 wagger1903 W.P.B.1903 waste-bin1915 Sanibin1921 binette1922 G.I. can1929 trash can1929 trashbag1934 litter-bin1947 shitcan1948 pedal bin1951 trash-bin1955 litter-basket1958 midgie1965 bin1972 swing bin1972 tidy bin1972 dump bin1978 wheelie bin1984 binbag1986 1958 J. Cannan And be Villain vii. 160 Oh, the mess they leave on our little common..in spite of the litter baskets. 1972 J. Brown Chancer xiv. 191 There's a row of litter baskets each side of the gates. litter-bin n. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse vat1534 voider1613 waste-paper box1836 dustbin1847 kid1847 waste-basket1850 scrap-box1858 waste-paper basket1859 garbage can1869 can1872 hell1872 scrap basket1872 sink tidy1881 tidy-betty1884 kitchen tidy1885 midden1890 wagger1903 W.P.B.1903 waste-bin1915 Sanibin1921 binette1922 G.I. can1929 trash can1929 trashbag1934 litter-bin1947 shitcan1948 pedal bin1951 trash-bin1955 litter-basket1958 midgie1965 bin1972 swing bin1972 tidy bin1972 dump bin1978 wheelie bin1984 binbag1986 1947 Archit. Rev. 102 198 (caption) On the right a typical litter-bin. 1972 Guardian 28 Jan. 5/6 Clerical staff..have been..sweeping up, and emptying litter bins. litter-box n. ΚΠ 1953 News Chron. 2 June 4/4 What a mess there will be on Coronation Day unless people use the litter-boxes. litter-bug n. bug n.² 4a. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > pollution or defilement > environmental pollution > [noun] > dropping litter > one who litter-lout1927 litterer1928 litter-bug1947 1947 N.Y. Herald-Tribune 16 Feb. 2/7 (heading) 47,000 subway ‘litterbugs’ pay $107,000 in fines in 1946 drive. 1959 Times 23 July 7/7 I rate such persons in the same category as litter bugs. 1971 Guardian 8 Dec. 24/8 He picks up any litter he can find..and he is apt to give litter-bugs a severe dressing-down. litter-carrier n. ΚΠ 1915 J. London Let. 26 Jan. (1966) 445 He has no litter-carriers to carry manure. litter-cart n. ΚΠ 1967 ‘G. North’ Sgt. Cluff & Day of Reckoning ii. 18 A small, cloth-capped man guiding a battery-propelled litter-cart. litter-lout n. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > pollution or defilement > environmental pollution > [noun] > dropping litter > one who litter-lout1927 litterer1928 litter-bug1947 1927 Children's Newspaper 25 June 8/2 It is time the Litter Lout was taken seriously in hand. 1972 Guardian 29 Mar. 24/1 The packaging industry had been made a scapegoat for the actions of the litter lout. C5. (In sense 5.) litter-mate n. ΚΠ 1921 Genetics 6 122 These are assumed to be litter-mates for whom all or nearly all tangible environmental factors may be assumed to be in common. 1946 Nature 24 Aug. 258/2 A biological test of a solution in arachis oil of the vitamin A thus obtained showed growth-promoting activity in rats (ten litter-mate growth comparisons) of the order indicated by spectroscopic assay. 1972 Sci. Amer. Feb. 22/3 Rodents are small, inexpensive and bear large litters, so that littermates with the same genetic background can be assigned to different conditions. litter-sister n. ΚΠ 1897 Sketch 24 Nov. 192 The puppy..is a litter-sister to the then ten-weeks-old Wayward. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 1 Mar. 79/2 Mr. G. H. Lewis was not to be denied in the junior class, litter-sisters from him..taking first and second places. 1973 Country Life 15 Feb. 385/1 Miss S. G. Weall's fawn dog..collected two firsts and his litter sister..two seconds. Draft additions 1997 Decomposing but still recognizable vegetable debris that has fallen from trees and other plants and forms a distinct layer above the soil, esp. on the floor of a forest. See also leaf litter n. at leaf n.¹ Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > topsoil > litter leaf litter1853 litter1905 litterfall1967 1905 Terms Forestry & Logging (Bull. U.S. Dept. Agric., Bureau Forestry, No. 61) 14 Litter, that portion of the forest floor which is not in an advanced state of decomposition. 1938 J. E. Weaver & F. E. Clements Plant Ecol. (ed. 2) viii. 184 Litter comprises the upper portion of the forest floor, slightly or not at all decomposed. The more or less decomposed organic matter just beneath the litter constitutes a layer of duff. 1947 R. F. Daubenmire Plants & Environment ii. 25 Just beneath the fresh litter may be found a layer derived from the preceding seasons' litter in which the processes of disintegration seem actively at work. 1974 Nature 4 Jan. 3/2 If stress is low, then grasslands become dominated by species of high physical competitive ability, that is species which grow rapidly, are robust and produce dense litter. 1990 Forest Resources Arizona (U.S. Dept. Agric. Forest Service) 31 Descriptive locational observations on litter depth..were made at each field location to get an idea of the general condition and stability of the woodland soil resource in the State. Draft additions 1997 litter case n. a person too ill or badly injured to walk, who is carried on a litter (sense 2b above): cf. stretcher case n. at stretcher n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > sick person > [noun] > needing conveyance stretcher case1917 litter case1944 wheelchair patient1970 wheelie1977 wheelchair wounded1982 1944 Sun (Baltimore) 9 June 2/3 First to be unloaded on the pier were the litter cases—seriously injured and dying. 1966 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 24 Dec. (1970) 464 A litter case came down the steps [of the ambulance plane] and a young man raised his head. Draft additions January 2005 = cat litter n. at cat n.¹ Additions. ΚΠ 1959 New Oxford (Pa.) Item 15 Jan. 5/5 (advt.) Pet supplies. Cat comfort. The absorbent litter that deodorizes. 1986 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Aug. Outside in the tiny corridor are meat tins, litter and basket for her cat. 2001 B. Dibra & E. Randolph CatSpeak v. 85 A good, sturdy, lined litter box is just as important as a carrying case; so is its location and the litter in it. Draft additions January 2005 litter box n. a shallow container, typically filled with cat litter, for a domestic cat or other pet to use for urination or defecation when indoors. ΚΠ 1959 Herald (Chicago) 30 Apr. (Classified section) 11/3 (advt.) Kittens to be given away. Litter-box trained. 2002 L. Wener Goodnight Steve McQueen lx. 271 He's taken to after-gig slutting like a cat to its very first litter box. Draft additions January 2005 litter tray n. chiefly British = litter box n. at Additions. ΚΠ 1964 News (Frederick, Maryland) 22 Apr. 5/6 (advt.) Wanted—Home for 6 week old kitten. House broken. Will give litter tray and double dish with kitten. 1983 Times 21 Feb. 10/5 Someone burst a balloon in my right ear and I nearly jumped into my cats' litter tray. 2000 Petcare Jan. 4/3 If you notice that your rabbit is going to the toilet in a different place to the litter tray, then simply move the litter tray to your rabbit's chosen spot. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2022). litterv. Brit. /ˈlɪtə/, U.S. /ˈlɪdər/ Etymology: < litter n. †1. transitive. To carry in a litter. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > transport or convey by carrying [verb (transitive)] > convey by carrying (of person) > a person > in a litter litter1708 1708 W. Darrell Suppl. to 1st Pt. Gentleman Instructed iii. 27 These Pagan Ladies were litter'd to Campus Martius, ours are coacht to Hide-Park. 2. To furnish (a horse, etc.) with litter or straw for his bed; humorously, to provide (a person) with a bed. Also to litter down. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > bed down littera1398 strawc1440 bedc1480 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xli. 1190 The colte is nouȝt ylitered wiþ strawe, nouþer ycorrayed wiþ horse combe. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 374 It shal be necessary to keepe him warme..by littering him vp to the belly with fresh straw. a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) ii. 30 Tell them how they litter their Jades and exercise Merchandize in the House of God. 1737 H. Bracken Farriery Improved viii. 131 Bedding or littering him down with dry clean Straw. 1799 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1893) XIV. 220 That the stock may be well fed,—littered,—and taken care of according to the directions. 1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg i, in New Monthly Mag. 60 85 One is litter'd under a roof, Neither wind nor water proof. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 221 Let him be returned to the stable, littered down. 1861 S. Smiles Lives Engineers II. 112 Thrashing straw to litter the large stock of cattle he had on hand. absolute.1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 41^v Al kinde of strawe, is good to litter withall.figurative and in extended use.1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 129 I love the browning bough to see That litters autumn's dying bed. 3. intransitive. To lie down on a bed or on litter. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > posture > action or fact of lying down or reclining > lie down or recline [verb (intransitive)] > on a bed or litter litter1634 1634 W. Habington Castara ii. 72 The Inne, Where he and his horse litter'd. 1858 W. Arnot Laws from Heaven II. 279 That poor wretch..has a number of children littering in the hovel which they call their home. 4. transitive. †a. To compound (plaster) with or as with litter. (Cf. litter n. 3c.) Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > clad or cover [verb (transitive)] > plaster > processes involved in plastering litter1559 gauge1686 to prick up1779 key1837 stab1846 1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 65 Some use pure clay littered with ox heare. b. To plaster.Apparently an isolated use. ΚΠ 1862 J. Skelton Nugæ Criticæ i. 60 The hovels of the natives were built of turf, littered with mud. 5. To cover with litter. Also with down. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter loosely or strew > strew (a surface) with something > with specific substance rusha1325 belitter1655 litter1700 verbenate1829 1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Cock & Fox in Fables 231 But for his ease, well litter'd was the Floor. 1813 Sporting Mag. 42 55 A loose stable, well littered down with fresh straw. 1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. iii. 38/1 Mind, which grows, not like a vegetable (by having its roots littered with etymological compost), but like a Spirit. 6. a. To cover as with litter, to strew with objects scattered in disorder. Also with round, over, up. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > absence of arrangement > disarrange [verb (transitive)] > cover (as) with objects in disorder litter1726 the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter (a surface) with something > with things in disorder litter1726 the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > untidiness > make untidy [verb (transitive)] > clutter or litter clutter1674 litter1726 1726 J. Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 18 They found, The Room with Volumes litter'd round. 1770 S. Foote Lame Lover ii. 29 You know how angry your mother is at their rapping, and littering the house. 1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 280 Littering with unfolded silks The polished counter. 1825 W. Scott Let. 17 May (1935) IX. 118 We must not litter up your house..as we can always get into a hotel. 1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities ii. v. 57 A dingy room lined with books and littered with papers. 1883 J. A. Froude Short Stud. IV. i. iv. 49 Dinner was over. The floor was littered with rushes and fragments of rolls and broken meat. 1888 Mrs. H. Ward Robert Elsmere I. i. iv. 90 The house was littered over with stanzas from the opening canto of a great poem on Columbus. 1890 A. Conan Doyle Sign of Four v. 84 The table was littered over with Bunsen burners, test-tubes, and retorts. 1895 E. A. Parkes Care Health 35 Serving merely to litter up the surface of the earth. b. To scatter in disorder about, on, over. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter (things) about in disorder scatterc1330 sparplea1350 tedc1560 straggle1589 squatter1611 disparple1613 flurr1661 litter1734 1734 J. Swift Strephon & Cloe in Beautiful Young Nymph 23 View them litter'd on the Floor, Or strung on Pegs behind the Door. 1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 31 Firewood and shavings lay littered about the floors. 1883 R. Gower My Reminisc. I. xviii. 358 A room..which we found full of soldiers asleep littered over the floor. c. Of things: To lie about in disorder upon. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > absence of arrangement > disarrange [verb (transitive)] > cover (as) with objects in disorder > lie in disorder upon litter1856 the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter (things) about in disorder > lie scattered in disorder upon litter1856 the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > untidiness > make untidy [verb (transitive)] > clutter or litter > lie about in disorder upon litter1856 1856 C. J. Lever Martins of Cro' Martin ii. 14 Pieces of stuccoed tracery..littered the garden and the terrace. 1882 B. D. W. Ramsay Recoll. Mil. Serv. II. xiv. 41 Papers, belonging to our various departments under him, littering his table. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xli. 58 Or littering far the fields of May Lady-smocks a-bleaching lay. 7. a. Of animals, occasionally transferred in contemptuous use of human beings: To bring forth (young). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [verb (intransitive)] > bring forth young belittera1325 whelp1398 fawn1481 litter1484 kitten1495 kittle1530 yean1548 dam1577 farrow1580 cub1755 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. ix Whan the bytche had lyttred her lytyl dogges. 1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxvii. 187 She doth lytter them deepe vnder the ground, & so the Wolf doth not. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. i. 238 I would they were Barbarians, as they are, Though in Rome litter'd . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 283 Saue for the Son, that [s]he did littour heere, A frekelld whelpe, hag-borne. View more context for this quotation 1622 J. Donne Serm. (1959) IV. 271 Lyons are litterd perfit, but Beare-whelpes lick'd vnto their shape. 1867 S. Smiles Huguenots Eng. & Ireland iv. 90 Wolves littered their young in the deserted farm-houses. 1874 Supernat. Relig. I. i. iv. 112 He must take the after-birth of a black cat, which has been littered by a first-born black cat. figurative.1814 Orpheus iii. i, in J. Galt New Brit. Theatre III. 299 For now I see Calamity is littering plagues to me. b. absol. or intransitive. ΚΠ 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope i. ix A bytche which wold lyttre and be delyuerd of her lytyl dogges. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 37 Pliny precisely affirmeth, that they litter the thirtith daie after their conception. 1733 J. Swift On Poetry 5 Infants dropt, the spurious Pledges Of Gipsies littering under Hedges. 1848 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii, in Wks. (1866) II. 504 If ever it [Kerry] was mentioned, it was mentioned as a horrible desert..where the she wolf still littered. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.c1330v.a1398
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