lutra

Meaning

1. femininean otter
   Eāsdem partēs sibi ipsī Ponticī amputant fibrī perīculō urgente, ob hoc sē petī gnārī; castoreum id vocant medicī. Aliās animal horrendī morsūs arborēs iuxtā flūmina ut ferrō caedit, hominis parte conprehēnsā nōn ante quam frācta concrepuerint ossa morsūs resolvit. Cauda piscium hīs, cētera speciēs lutrae. Utrumque aquāticum, utrīque mollior plūmā pilus.Pontic beavers cut off their same parts in urgent danger, on account of which they are known to be hunted; doctors call this castor. Other times, the animal with an awesome bite fells trees near rivers as if with iron, they don't let go of their bites when a part of a human is caught until the bones crack broken. These have a fish's tail, the rest of the appearance is of an otter. Both aquatic, the hair of both softer than fluff.77 CE – 79 CE, Plinius Maior, Naturalis Historia 8.109

Declension

Origins

1. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
2. Proto-Indo-European*udrós
3. Proto-Indo-European*udréh₂
4. Latinlutra

From Proto-Indo-European *udr-eh₂, the feminine noun of *udrós (“sea animal, otter”, literally “of water”). The l- was likely introduced by analogy of some other word, such as lavō (“to wash”), lūdō (“to play”), lupus (“wolf”) or lutum (“mud, dirt”). See § descendants notes for information on the Varro form with -y- and the medieval forms. Cognate with Sanskrit उद्र (udrá, “otter”), Ancient Greek ὕδρος (húdros, “sea snake”), Proto-Germanic *utraz (“otter”), Proto-Slavic *vỳdra (“otter”).