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littermate

littermate

1 4.4
An animal born at the same time to the same mother, like a puppy or kitten
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪtərˌmeɪt/
: hermano de camada
  • In the natal den, an infant's social world consists almost exclusively of its mother and its littermate, if it has one.
  • relationship between littermates

Examples

  • Oliver wasn't bothered a bit that no one liked him, but he desperately wanted to be as big as his littermates.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • When they got back to the car, Daisy was standing unsteadily, with Dusk, her littermate, hovering beside her.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I guess if they had littermates, they would be playing with them.

    Blog text (7)
  • Never found them, or my littermates.

  • Back when I was a pup, me and my littermates lived with a family.

  • Maybe your cats were teased by their littermates and don't know how to accept love?

    Blog text (14)
  • The reason I am sorrowing is that six babies of a littermate's esteemed wife are now orphans; very sad.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • In the playful garden, the puppy chased its littermate, enjoying the sunny day.

  • After their adoption, the two kittens snuggled up with their littermates in a cozy bed.

  • During the first weeks, a puppy learns important skills by interacting with its littermate.

Surface Forms

littermate singular
littermates plural

Morphology

littermate = litter + mate (transparent) = litter + mate

The meaning is directly composed from 'litter' (a group of young animals born at one time) + 'mate' (companion), so the word denotes an animal born in the same litter.

Etymology

The word littermate comes from litter, meaning 'a group of baby animals born at the same time', and mate, meaning 'friend' or 'companion'. So a littermate is an animal born in the same litter, like the brother or sister of a puppy or kitten.