otter

Meaning

Noun

• An aquatic or marine carnivorous mammal in the subfamily Lutrinae of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badgers, and others.
• A hairy man with a slender physique, in contrast with a bear, who is more thickset.
• annatto

Origin

• From Middle English oter, otir, otur, otyre, from Old English otor, from Proto-West Germanic *ot(t)r, from Proto-Germanic *utraz, from Proto-Indo-European *udrós, from Proto-Indo-European *wed-.
• Cognate with Saterland Frisian Otter, Dutch otter, German Otter, Swedish utter, Norwegian oter, Icelandic otur, Sanskrit उद्र, Russian вы́дра, and Ancient Greek ὕδρα. More etymology under English water.
• Corruption of annotto.