I. ˈäd.ə(r), ˈätə- noun
( plural otter or otters )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English oter, from Old English otor, oter; akin to Middle Dutch & Middle Low German otter, Old High German ottar, Old Norse otr otter, Greek hydros water snake, Sanskrit udra, an aquatic animal, Greek hydōr water — more at water
1.
a. : any of several aquatic fish-eating mustelid mammals chiefly of the nearly cosmopolitan genus Lutra that are from two to four feet long with the tail long and flattened, the legs short, the feet completely webbed and with claws, the ears small, and the whiskers very bristly and that have dark brown fur highly valued for its beauty and durability and when dressed resembling beaver — compare sea otter
b. : the fur or pelt of an otter
2.
a.
(1) : fishing tackle consisting of a short plank weighted at one end so as to stand in the water to which flies or bait are attached and whose movements are controlled by lines in the hands of the fisherman ashore
(2) : otter board
b. : paravane
3. : the larva of a ghost moth ( Hepialus humuli ) that is very injurious to hopvines
4. or otter brown : a dark grayish yellowish brown that is slightly yellower and deeper than seal and less strong, slightly redder, and darker than sepia brown — called also loutre, perique, pickaninny
[s]otter.jpg[/s] [
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II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to hunt the otter
transitive verb
: to fish with an otter