beaver

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A large aquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having thick brown fur, webbed hind feet, a broad flat tail, and sharp incisors adapted for gnawing bark, felling trees, and constructing dams and underwater lodges.
2. n. The fur of this rodent.
3. n. A top hat originally made of the underfur of this rodent.
4. n. A napped wool fabric, similar to felt, used for outer garments.
5. n. Vulgar Slang The female genitals.
6. n. Offensive & Vulgar Slang A woman or girl.
7. adj. Of or relating to a beaver or beavers: beaver fur; a beaver hat.
8. adj. Constructed by beavers: beaver dams.
9. v. To work diligently and energetically.
10. n. A piece of armor attached to a helmet or breastplate to protect the mouth and chin.
11. n. The visor on a helmet.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A rodent quadruped, about two feet in length, of the family Castoridæ and genus Castor, C. fiber, at one time common in the northern regions of both hemispheres, now found in considerable numbers only in North America, but occurring solitary in central Europe and Asia. It has short ears, a blunt nose, small fore feet, large webbed hind feet, with a flat ovate tail covered with scales'on its upper surface. It is valued for its fur (which used to be largely employed in the manufacture of hats, but for which silk is now for the most part substituted) and for an odoriferous secretion named castor or castoreum (which see). Its food consists of the bark of trees, leaves, roots, and berries. The favorite haunts of the beavers are rivers and lakes which are bordered by forests. When they find a stream not sufficiently deep for their purpose, they throw across it a dam constructed with great ingenuity of wood, stones, and mud, gnawing down small trees for the purpose, and compacting the mud by blows of their powerful tails. In winter they live in houses, which are from 3 to 4 feet high, are built on the water's edge with subaqueous entrances, and afford them protection from wolves and other wild animals. They formerly abounded throughout northern America, but are now found only in unsettled or thinly populated regions. Several slightly different varieties of the European beaver have received special names. The North American beaver is somewhat larger than the European, and exhibits some slight cranial peculiarities; it is commonly rated as a distinct species or conspecies, under the name of Castor canadensis. The so-called fossil beaver, Castoroides ohioensis, belongs to a different family, Castoroididæ (which see). See also Castoridæ.
2. n. The fur of the beaver.
3. n. A hat made of beaver fur.
4. n. Hence— A hat of the shape of a beaver hat, but made of silk or other material, in imitation of the fur. The modern stiff silk hat was commonly called a beaver until recently.
5. n. A glove made of beaver's fur.
6. n. A thick and warm cloth used for garments by both sexes. The thickest quality is used for overcoats.
7. Made of beaver or of the fur of the beaver: as, a beaver hat; beaver gloves.
8. n. In medieval armor, originally a protection for the lower part of the face and cheeks, fixed securely to the armor of the neck and breast, and sufficiently large to allow the head to turn behind it. In this form it was worn throughout the fifteenth century with headpieces other than the armet. In English armor it was the movable protection for the lower part of the face, while the vizor covered the upper part; it is therefore nearly the same as the aventaile (which see). In the sixteenth century the movable beaver was confounded with the vizor.
9. See bever.

Wiktionary

1. n. now historical The lower face-guard of a helmet.
2. n. Alternative form of bever.
3. n. An aquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet.
4. n. A hat, of various shape, made from a felted beaver fur, fashionable in Europe between 1550 and 1850
5. n. vulgar, slang The pubic hair and/or vulva of a woman.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) An amphibious rodent, of the genus Castor.
2. n. The fur of the beaver.
3. n. A hat, formerly made of the fur of the beaver, but now usually of silk.
4. n. Beaver cloth, a heavy felted woolen cloth, used chiefly for making overcoats.
5. n. A man's beard.
6. n. vulgar slang The hair on a woman's pubic area; -- vulgar.
7. n. vulgar slang A woman; -- vulgar and offensive.
8. n. informal A person who works enthusiastically and diligently; -- used especially in the phrase eager beaver.
9. n. That piece of armor which protected the lower part of the face, whether forming a part of the helmet or fixed to the breastplate. It was so constructed (with joints or otherwise) that the wearer could raise or lower it to eat and drink.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. work hard on something
2. n. a full beard
3. n. large semiaquatic rodent with webbed hind feet and a broad flat tail; construct complex dams and underwater lodges
4. n. a movable piece of armor on a medieval helmet used to protect the lower face
5. n. a man's hat with a tall crown; usually covered with silk or with beaver fur
6. n. a hat made with the fur of a beaver (or similar material)
7. n. the soft brown fur of the beaver
8. n. a native or resident of Oregon