litter [ME] The earliest, medieval meaning of litter was ‘a bed’, which was also that of its source, Latin lectus. Its journey to the modern sense ‘rubbish lying in a public place’ took until the mid 18th century. The link is bedding made of straw or rushes, once used by poorer people, who put it down on the floor and then discarded it when soiled. A litter of animals such as kittens probably gets its name from the mother’s giving birth in a sheltered sleeping place.