I. ˈlid.ə(r), ˈlitə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English litere, liter bed, litter, from Old French litiere, from lit bed, from Latin lectus — more at lie
1.
a. : a vehicle consisting of a usually covered and curtained couch in which a single passenger is carried
as Rome became powerful and captured many slaves, the usual conveyance in the city was a litter carried on the shoulders of four men — Edwin Tunis
b. : a bed, stretcher, basket, or other device for carrying a sick or injured person
the wounded general … was moved to the rear first by wagon, then by litter — John Mason Brown
2.
a. : material (as straw or hay) used especially as bedding for animals
fibrous peat is also used as … litter material for bedding stock and for stable and poultry yards — J.A.DeCarlo & Maxine M. Otero
b. : the uppermost slightly decayed layer of organic matter on the forest floor
rain … is absorbed by the spongelike mass of litter and then seeps into the soil — London Calling
— compare duff , humus
3.
a. : the offspring at one birth of a multiparous animal
a litter of puppies
b. archaic : an act of animal parturition
the female produces from three to six young ones at a litter — Samuel Williams
4.
a. : refuse or rubbish lying scattered about
the litter of rusty cans and foul rags — Van Wyck Brooks
b. : an untidy accumulation of objects lying about
an old pamphlet among the litter of the abbot's study — J.H.Blunt
[s]litter.jpg[/s] [
litter 1a
]
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to supply (an animal) with material for bedding
keep him warm by littering him up to the belly with fresh straw — Edward Topsell
b. : to cover (as a floor) with material for bedding
a loose stable, well littered down with fresh straw — Sporting Magazine
2. : to produce a litter of
wolves littered their young in the deserted farmhouses — Samuel Smiles
3.
a. : to strew with scattered articles
the great majority litters the scene with papers, boxes, cans … — Phoenix Flame
b. : to scatter about in disorder
littered his clothing all over the floor
c. : to lie about in disorder
pieces of stuccoed tracery … littered the garden — Charles Lever
intransitive verb
1. : to produce a litter
a horrible desert … where the she wolf still littered — T.B.Macaulay
2. : to strew litter
don't litter
III. noun
: material used to absorb the urine and feces of animals