another name for the coypu, used esp to refer to its fur
2.
a brown colour with a grey tinge
Word origin
C19: from Spanish: otter, variant of lutria, ultimately from Latin lūtra otter
nutria in American English
(ˈnutriə; ˈnjutriə)
US
noun
1.
the only member (Myocastor coypus) of a family (Myocastoridae) of South American water-dwelling rodents with webbed feet and a long, almost hairless tail; coypu
2.
its short-haired, soft, brown fur, often dyed to look like beaver
Word origin
Sp < L lutra, otter, altered (with l- after lutum, mire) < IE *udros, water animal: see otter
Examples of 'nutria' in a sentence
nutria
It was probably a nutria that she had seen, a common enough animal in these parts.