litter

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French litere, from lit bed, from Latin lectus — more at lie Date: 14th century 1. a. a covered and curtained couch provided with shafts and used for carrying a single passenger b. a device (as a stretcher) for carrying a sick or injured person 2. a. (1) material used as bedding for animals (2) material used to absorb the urine and feces of animals b. the uppermost slightly decayed layer of organic matter on the forest floor 3. the offspring at one birth of a multiparous animal <

a litter of puppies

> 4. a. trash, wastepaper, or garbage lying scattered about <

trying to clean up the roadside litter

> b. an untidy accumulation of objects <

a shabby writing-desk covered with a litter of yellowish dusty documents — Joseph Conrad

> • littery adjective II. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. bed 1a 2. to give birth to a litter of (young) 3. a. to strew with scattered articles b. to scatter about in disorder c. to lie about in disorder <

their upside-down hats littered the top of the bar — Michael Chabon

> d. to mark with objects scattered at random <

a book littered with misprints

> intransitive verb 1. to give birth to a litter 2. to strew litter