Defn: See Attar.
OTTAVA RIMA
Ot*ta"va ri"ma. [It. See Octave, and Rhyme.] (Pros.)
Defn: A stanza of eight lines of heroic verse, with three rhymes, the first six lines rhyming alternately and the last two forming a couplet. It was used by Byron in "Don Juan," by Keats in "Isabella," by Shelley in "The Witch of Atlas," etc.
OTTAWAS
Ot"ta*was, n. pl.; sing. Ottawa (. (Ethnol.)
Defn: A tribe of Indians who, when first known, lived on the Ottawa River. Most of them subsequently migrated to the southwestern shore of Lake Superior.
OTTER Ot"ter, n. Etym: [OE. oter, AS. Otor; akin to D. & G. otter, Icel. otr, Dan. odder, Sw. utter, Lith. udra, Russ, vuidra, Gr. udra otter, and also to E. water. Water, and cf. Hydra.]
1. (Zoöl.)
Defn: Any carnivorous animal of the genus Lutra, and related genera. Several species are described. They have large, flattish heads, short ears, and webbed toes. They are aquatic, and feed on fish. Their fur is soft and valuable. The common otter of Europe is Lutra vulgaris; the American otter is L. Canadensis; other species inhabit South America and Asia.
2. (Zoöl.)
Defn: The larva of the ghost moth. It is very injurious to hop vines.
Otter hound, Otter dog (Zoöl.), a small breed of hounds, used in
England for hunting otters.
— Otter sheep. See Ancon sheep, under Ancon.
— Otter shell (Zoöl.), very large bivalve mollusk (Schizothærus
Nuttallii) found on the northwest coast of America. It is excellent
food, and is extensively used by the Indians.
— Sea otter. (Zoöl.) See in the Vocabulary.