Definitions for beaver
ˈbi vərbeaver

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. beaver, beaver furnoun

   the soft brown fur of the beaver

2. Oregonian, Beavernoun

   a native or resident of Oregon

3. beavernoun

   a full beard

4. dress hat, high hat, opera hat, silk hat, stovepipe, top hat, topper, beavernoun

   a man's hat with a tall crown; usually covered with silk or with beaver fur

5. beavernoun

   a movable piece of armor on a medieval helmet used to protect the lower face

6. beaver, castornoun

   a hat made with the fur of a beaver (or similar material)

7. beaververb

   large semiaquatic rodent with webbed hind feet and a broad flat tail; construct complex dams and underwater lodges

8. beaver, beaver awayverb

   work hard on something

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Beavernoun

   A native or resident of the American state of Oregon.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Beavernoun

   Etymology: bievre, Fr.

   1. An animal, otherwise named the castor, amphibious, and remarkable for his art in building his habitation; of which many wonderful accounts are delivered by travellers. His skin is very valuable on account of the fur.

   The beaver being hunted, biteth off his stones, knowing that for them only his life is sought. George Hakewill, on Providence.

   They placed this invention upon the beaver, for the sagacity and wisdom of that animal; indeed from its artifice in building. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours, c. 4.

   2. A hat of the best kind; so called from being made of the fur of beaver.

   You see a smart rhetorician turning his hat, moulding it into different cocks, examining the lining and the button during his harangue: A deaf man would think he was cheapening a beaver, when he is talking of the fate of a nation. Joseph Addison, Sp.

   The broker here his spacious beaver wears,
   Upon his brow sit jealousies and cares. John Gay, Trivia.

   3. The part of a helmet that covers the face. [ baviere, Fr.]

   His dreadful hideous head
   Close couched on the beaver, seem’d to throw,
   From flaming mouth, bright sparkles firy red. Fairy Queen.

   Big Mars seems bankrupt in their beggar’d host,
   And faintly through a rusty beaver peeps. William Shakespeare, H. V.

   He was slain upon a course at tilt, the splinters of the staff going in at his beaver. Francis Bacon, Essays, №. 36.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Beaver

   Beavers (genus Castor) are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) and the Eurasian beaver (C. fiber). Beavers are the second-largest living rodents after the capybaras. They have stout bodies with large heads, long chisel-like incisors, brown or gray fur, hand-like front feet, webbed back feet and flat, scaly tails. The two species differ in the shape of the skull and tail and fur color. Beavers can be found in a number of freshwater habitats, such as rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. They are herbivorous, consuming tree bark, aquatic plants, grasses and sedges. Beavers build dams and lodges using tree branches, vegetation, rocks and mud; they chew down trees for building material. Dams impound water and lodges serve as shelters. Their infrastructure creates wetlands used by many other species, and because of their effect on other organisms in the ecosystem, they are considered a keystone species. Adult males and females live in monogamous pairs with their offspring. When they are old enough, the young will help their parents repair dams and lodges and may also help raise newly born offspring. Beavers hold territories and mark them using scent mounds made of mud, debris and castoreum, a liquid substance excreted through the beaver's urethra-based castor sacs. Beavers can also recognize their kin by their anal gland secretions and are more likely to tolerate them as neighbors. Historically, beavers have been hunted for their fur, meat and castoreum. Castoreum has been used in medicine, perfume and food flavoring, while beaver pelts have been a major driver of the fur trade. Before protections began in the 19th and early 20th centuries, overhunting had nearly exterminated both species. Their populations have rebounded, and they are both listed as least concern by the IUCN Red List of mammals. In human culture, the beaver symbolizes industriousness and is the national animal of Canada.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Beavernoun

   an amphibious rodent, of the genus Castor

2. Beavernoun

   the fur of the beaver

3. Beavernoun

   a hat, formerly made of the fur of the beaver, but now usually of silk

4. Beavernoun

   beaver cloth, a heavy felted woolen cloth, used chiefly for making overcoats

5. Beavernoun

   that piece of armor which protected the lower part of the face, whether forming a part of the helmet or fixed to the breastplate. It was so constructed (with joints or otherwise) that the wearer could raise or lower it to eat and drink

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Beaver

   The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American beaver and Eurasian beaver. Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges. They are the second-largest rodent in the world. Their colonies create one or more dams to provide still, deep water to protect against predators, and to float food and building material. The North American beaver population was once more than 60 million, but as of 1988 was 6–12 million. This population decline is due to extensive hunting for fur, for glands used as medicine and perfume, and because their harvesting of trees and flooding of waterways may interfere with other land uses.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Beaver

   bēv′ėr, n. an amphibious rodent quadruped valuable for its fur: the fur of the beaver: a hat made of the beaver's fur: a hat: a glove of beaver fur.—adj. Beav′erish (Carlyle), like a beaver, merely instinctive.—n. Beav′ery, a place where beavers are kept. [A.S. befer, beofor; Dut. bever, Ger. biber, Gael, beabhar, L. fiber.]

2. Beaver

   bēv′ėr, n. in medieval armour, the covering for the lower part of the face, the visor being that for the upper part—later the movable beaver was confounded with the visor.—adj. Beav′ered. [So called from a fancied likeness to a child's bib. O. Fr. bavière, from bave, slaver.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. beaver

   A helmet in general, but particularly that part which lets down to allow of the wearer's drinking.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. beaver

   That part of a helmet covering the lower part of the face, which shifted on pivots to allow the wearer to drink. The word is derived from the Latin word bevere, to drink.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. beaver

   Song lyrics by beaver -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by beaver on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. BEAVER

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Beaver is ranked #1665 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Beaver surname appeared 21,640 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 would have the surname Beaver.
   
   87% or 18,840 total occurrences were White.
   5% or 1,101 total occurrences were Black.
   3.1% or 677 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
   2.1% or 467 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   2.1% or 461 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   0.4% or 93 total occurrences were Asian.

Matched Categories

1. • American
   • Armor Plate
   • Beard
   • Fur
   • Fur Hat
   • Hat
   • Man's Clothing

How to pronounce beaver?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say beaver in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of beaver in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of beaver in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of beaver in a Sentence

1. Louise Ramsay:

   Paul and I wanted to bring back beavers in order to restore the wetlands and because we believe that animals that have been here historically should be returned, what we learned as we went along that journey was that the beaver doesn't just bring itself back, it brings back extraordinary habitat and an extreme boom in biodiversity.

2. Frank Iafrate:

   But then I did some research, and found out that when a beaver is threatened it runs away. So, the beaver was out.

3. Native American:

   We know what the animals do, what are the needs of the beaver, the bear, the salmon, and other creatures, because long ago men married them and acquired this knowledge from their animal wives. Today the priests say we lie, but we know better.

4. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen:

   It seems a little more antagonistic, so that part has changed a little bit, but it's not like this was' Leave it to Beaver,'' Mayberry R.F.D.,'' The Donna Reed Show,' it was never a Pollyanna, Mary Poppins place. It was always rough and tumble politics.

5. Chase Williams:

   We got down the road a little bit but in a matter of minutes the water rose up enough where it picked up the truck and took us both into Right Beaver Creek.

Popularity rank by frequency of use