litter

—litterer, n.

/lit"euhr/, n.

1. objects strewn or scattered about; scattered rubbish.

2. a condition of disorder or untidiness: We were appalled at the litter of the room.

3. a number of young brought forth by a multiparous animal at one birth: a litter of six kittens..

4. a framework of cloth stretched between two parallel bars, for the transportation of a sick or wounded person; stretcher.

5. a vehicle carried by people or animals, consisting of a bed or couch, often covered and curtained, suspended between shafts.

6. straw, hay, or the like, used as bedding for animals or as protection for plants.

7. the layer of slightly decomposed organic material on the surface of the floor of the forest.

8. See cat litter.

9. pick of the litter,

a. the best or choicest of the animals, esp. puppies, in a litter.

b. the best of any class, group, or available selection.

v.t.

10. to strew (a place) with scattered objects, rubbish, etc.: to be fined for littering the sidewalk.

11. to scatter (objects) in disorder: They littered their toys from one end of the playroom to the other.

12. to be strewn about (a place) in disorder (often fol. by up): Bits of paper littered the floor.

13. to give birth to (young), as a multiparous animal.

14. to supply (an animal) with litter for a bed.

15. to use (straw, hay, etc.) for litter.

16. to cover (a floor or other area) with straw, hay, etc., for litter.

v.i.

17. to give birth to a litter: The cat had littered in the closet.

18. to strew objects about: If you litter, you may be fined.

[1250-1300; ME litere bed, litter < AF; OF litiere < ML lectaria, equiv. to L lect(us) bed + -aria fem. of -arius -ER²]

Syn. 2. clutter. 3. See brood. 10. mess (up). 11. disarrange, derange.

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▪ bed

      portable bed or couch, open or enclosed, that is mounted on two poles and carried at each end on the shoulders of porters or by animals. Litters, which may have been adapted from sledges that were pushed or dragged on the ground, appear in Egyptian paintings and were used by the Persians; they are mentioned in the Book of Isaiah. Litters were also common in the Orient, where they were called palanquins. In ancient Rome, litters were reserved for empresses and senators' wives, and plebeians were forbidden to travel in them. By the 17th century, litters were plentiful in Europe; protection and privacy were provided by canopies held up by poles and by curtains or leather shields. The introduction of spring-mounted coaches ended the need for litters except as transport for the sick and wounded.

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