English Explanatory Dictionary

beaver

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet, native to the Northern Hemisphere.
  2. The fur of the beaver.
  3. A hat, of various shapes, made from a felted beaver fur (or later of silk), fashionable in Europe between 1550 and 1850.
  4. Beaver pelts as an article of exchange or as a standard of value.
  5. Beaver cloth, a heavy felted woollen cloth, used chiefly for making overcoats.
  6. A brown colour, like that of a beaver.
  7. A move in response to being doubled, in which one immediately doubles the stakes again, keeping the doubling cube on one’s own side of the board.
  8. Alternative letter-case form of Beaver (“member of the youngest wing of the Scout movement”).
  9. A beard or a bearded person.
  10. A game, in which points are scored by spotting beards.
  11. The pubic hair near a vulva or a vulva itself; (attributively) denoting films or literature featuring nude women.
  12. A woman, especially one who is sexually attractive.
verb
  1. To form a felt-like texture, similar to the way beaver fur is used for felt-making.
  2. To work hard.
  3. To cut a continuous ring around a tree that one is felling.
  4. After being doubled, to immediately double the stakes again, a move that keeps the doubling cube on one’s own side of the board.
  5. To spot a beard in a game of beaver.
noun
  1. Alternative spelling of bevor (“part of a helmet”).
noun
  1. Butter.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A number of places in the United States:
  3. A census-designated place in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska.
  4. A town in Carroll County, Arkansas.
  5. A minor city in Amaqua Township, Boone County, Iowa.
  6. A township and census-designated place therein, in Barton County, Kansas.
  7. An unincorporated community in Floyd County, Kentucky.
  8. A township and unincorporated community therein, in Bay County, Michigan.
  9. An unincorporated community in Baldwin Township, Delta County, Michigan.
  10. An unincorporated community in Whitewater Township, Winona County, Minnesota.
  11. A village in Pike County, Ohio.
  12. A town, the county seat of Beaver County, Oklahoma.
noun
  1. A native or resident of the American state of Oregon.
  2. A member of the youngest wing of the Scout movement, composed of groups for children, traditionally boys, of approximately five to seven years of age.
name
  1. The Dane-zaa people, indigenous to northern Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.
noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of beaver (“beard-spotting game”).

Pronunciation

/ˈbiːvə/ bēʹvər /ˈbivɚ/ en-us-beaver.ogg

Word forms

beaver beavers beavering beavered Beever

Etymology

From Middle English bever, from Old English befer, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru, from Proto-Germanic *bebruz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus (“beaver”). Cognate with West Frisian bever, Dutch bever, French bièvre, German Biber, dialectal Swedish bjur. Non-Germanic cognates include Welsh befer, Latin fiber, Lithuanian bẽbras, Russian бобр (bobr), Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬭𐬀 (bauura), and Sanskrit बभ्रु (bábhru, “mongoose; ichneumon”). Slang use to refer to a woman evolved from use to refer to pubic hair, which evolved from use to refer to beards, which evolved from use to refer to the furry animal or its fur.

Synonyms

castorette castor castoreum beaver brown beard beardo beardy beav nest

Related words

Beaver City Beaverton Beaver Town Beavertown Beaver Township Beaverville City of Beaver Town of Beaver

Derived words

American beaver bank beaver beav beavage beaverboard Beaver City Beaver County Beavercreek Beaver Creek beaver dam beaver deceiver beaver-eater beaver eater beavered beaverette Beaver Falls beaver fever beaver hay beaverish Beaver Kill beaverkin beaver lamb beaverlike beaverling beaverly beaver moon beaver rat beaver shooter beaverskin Beaver State beavertail beaver tail Beaverton beaver trader beaverwood beavery Beverley busy as a beaver busy beaver busy beaver function busy little beaver Canadian beaver eager beaver eat beaver European beaver giant beaver in beaver land-beaver made beaver mountain beaver sea beaver split beaver werebeaver beaver away

Translations

Finnish: majavannahka German: Biberfell Polish: bobry
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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