Beaver

Beaver is a rodent native to North America and northern Eurasia. It is semiaquatic, broad-tailed, and comparatively large. The word is derived from an Indo-European root meaning 'brown'. Beavers are noted for felling trees by gnawing through the trunks to feed on its bark, and also for building barriers to hold back water, a sort of dams. It belongs to the genus Castor, and the family Castoridae. Castor canadensis is the North American and Castor fiber is the Eurasian species.

Beavers are very hard-working species, and therefore, a very hard-working person is also sometimes called a beaver. Its a metaphorical use of the term.

The soft light brown fur of the beaver, beaver hat, and beaver cloth are also simply called beaver. Beaver hats were made of felted beaver fur, but now its a part of history. Beaver cloth is a heavy woolen cloth resembling felted beaver fur.

In a suit of armour, beaver is the lower part of the face guard of a helmet. The upper part or visor, and a single movable guard, are also referred to as beavers.

The word beaver is also a vulgar slang for a woman's genitals or pubic area, but the term becomes offensive when used to refer to a woman.

Nearby pages
Beaver State, Beaverboard, Beaverton, Beawar Vidhan Sabha Constituency, Bebek Bay