otter

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genus Lutra and allied genera, related to the minks and weasels and having webbed feet and dense, dark brown fur.
2. n. The fur of this mammal.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. An aquatic digitigrade carnivorous mammal of the order Feræ, family Mustelidæ and subfamily Lutrinæ. There are several genera, as Barangia (or Leptonyx), Aonyx, Lontra (or Saricovia), Lutra proper, Hydrogale, and Pteronura. They all have large flattish heads, short ears, webbed toes, crooked nails, and tails slightly flattened horizontally. The common river-otter, the Lutra vulgaris of Europe, is a quadruped adapted to amphibious habits by its short, strong, flexible, palmated feet, which serve as oars to propel it through the water, and by its long and strong tail, which acts as a powerful rudder, and enables the animal to change its course with great ease and rapidity. It inhabits the banks of rivers, and feeds principally on fish. When its retreat is found, the otter instantly takes the water and dives, remaining a long time underneath it, and rising at a considerable distance from the place where it dived. The weight of a full-grown male is from 20 to 24 pounds, and its length is about 2 feet exclusive of the tail. In many parts of England, and especially in Wales, the otter is hunted with dogs trained for this purpose. The other species of Lutra proper, which are found in different parts of the world, do not differ greatly from the European otter. The American otter is a quite distinct species, Lutra (Latax) canadensis. Some Asiatic otters with reduced claws constitute the genus Aonyx. There are South American otters, as Lutra brasiliensis and L. chilensis. The most remarkable form is the winged-tailed or margin-tailed otter of South America, Pteronura sandbachi. The fur of otters is valuable. One kind of it, from South America, is known as nutria.
2. n. The sea-otter. See Enhydris.
3. n. The larva of the ghost-moth, Epialus humuli, which is very destructive to hop-plantations.
4. n. A tackle with line and flies, used for fishing below the surface in lakes and rivers.
5. n. A breed of sheep: same as ancon, 3.
6. n. A corruption of arnotto.
7. n. Same as attar.
8. To hunt otters with dogs.
9. To fish with a fioat and hooks. See otter-board.
10. To fish with line and flies. See otter, n., 4.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any aquatic or marine carnivorous mammal, member of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badgers, and others.
2. n. a hairy man, thin, not heavyset, especially one who is mostly happy(compare bear)

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Any carnivorous animal of the genera Lutra, Enhydra, and related genera of the family Mustelidae. Several species are described. They have large, flattish heads, short ears, and webbed toes. They are aquatic, and feed on fish. The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) also eats clams, crabs, starfish, abalone, and other marine animals; they may come to the surface, and lying on their backs using the stomach as a table, may be seen cracking open the shell of its prey with a rock. The common otter of Europe is Lutra vulgaris; the North American otter (or American otter) is Lutra Canadensis, which inhabits marshes, streams and rivers; other species inhabit South America and Asia. The North American otter adult is about three to four feet long (including the tail) and weighs from 10 to 30 pounds; the sea otter is commonly four feet long and 45 pounds (female) or 60 pounds (male). Their fur is soft and valuable, and in the nineteenth century they were hunted extensively. The sea otter was hunted to near extinction by 1900, and is now protected. Fewer than 3,000 sea otters are believed to live along the central California coast.
2. n. The larva of the ghost moth. It is very injurious to hop vines.
3. n. A corruption of annotto.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the fur of an otter
2. n. freshwater carnivorous mammal having webbed and clawed feet and dark brown fur