castor
castor Lexical Profile
castor Game Scores & Validity
• noun
British A small swiveling wheel attached to the bottom of a piece of furniture or heavy equipment to make it easier to move.
"One of the brass castors on the antique armchair had come loose and needed to be screwed back into the leg."
A reddish-brown, unctuous aromatic substance secreted by the perineal glands of the beaver, historically used in medicine and perfumery as a fixative.
"Perfumers once prized castor for its warm, leathery scent and ability to make fragrances last longer."
British A small bottle or container with a perforated top used for sprinkling sugar, salt, pepper, or other condiments at the table.
"She passed the silver sugar castor across the table so her guest could sweeten the berries."
A hat made from beaver fur or a similar felt material (now primarily historical).
"In the eighteenth century, a gentleman of means seldom went outdoors without a fine beaver castor upon his head."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British English, 'castor' is the standard spelling for a swiveling furniture wheel or a shaker for sugar, whereas American English prefers 'caster' for those senses and reserves 'castor' for the beaver secretion and castor oil.
• Rhymes for castor
Word Origin & Etymology
In the senses relating to the beaver and its aromatic secretion, the word derives from Latin 'castor' and Ancient Greek 'kastor' (beaver). In the sense of a small swiveling wheel or shaker, it is a variant of 'caster', an agent noun from the verb 'cast'.