Lutra

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genus of carnivorous mammals known as otters distinguished by their webbed feet and a streamlined body
2. A member of the family Mustelidae, typically found in aquatic habitats, feeding on fish and crustaceans
3. A mammalian species characterized by its playful behavior and significant role in aquatic ecosystems, aiding in the balance of local fisheries

Etymology: Lutra is the Latin word for "otter," and it survives as the scientific name of the genus that includes the Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra. Linnaeus gave the genus its name in 1758, in the tenth edition of his "Systema Naturae," so the word was chosen as a formal label rather than arriving through everyday speech. Romans used "lutra" for the animal long before that, and it is a noun of the same family as the Latin "lutum," meaning mud or wet clay, which fits an animal that spends so much of its life in water and riverbank mud. The genus name is a reminder of how far the Latin word travelled. The English "otter" comes from a separate Germanic line, Old English "otor," and is related to Greek "hydra" (water snake) through a shared root for water. So the two English-facing names for the animal, "otter" and "lutra," descend from different ancient words that both refer to water.

Synonyms: otter