What is "castor"

Beaver \Bea"ver\, n. [OE. bever, AS. beofer, befer; akin to D. bever, OHG. bibar, G. biber, Sw. b["a]fver, Dan. b[ae]ver, Lith. bebru, Russ. bobr', Gael. beabhar, Corn. befer, L. fiber, and Skr. babhrus large ichneumon; also as an adj., brown, the animal being probably named from its color.

1. (Zo["o]l.) An amphibious rodent, of the genus Castor.

   Note: It has palmated hind feet, and a broad, flat tail. It is remarkable for its ingenuity in constructing its lodges or ``houses,'' and dams across streams. It is valued for its fur, and for the material called castor, obtained from two small bags in the groin of the animal. The European species is Castor fiber, and the American is generally considered a variety of this, although sometimes called Castor Canadensis.

2. The fur of the beaver.

3. A hat, formerly made of the fur of the beaver, but now usually of silk.

   A brown beaver slouched over his eyes.
   --Prescott.

4. Beaver cloth, a heavy felted woolen cloth, used chiefly for making overcoats.

5. A man's beard.

6. The hair on a woman's pubic area; -- vulgar. [vulgar slang]

7. A woman; -- vulgar and offensive. [vulgar slang]

8. A person who works enthusiastically and diligently; -- used especially in the phrase eager beaver. [informal]

   Beaver rat (Zo["o]l.), an aquatic ratlike quadruped of Tasmania ( Hydromys chrysogaster).

   Beaver skin, the furry skin of the beaver.

   Bank beaver. See under 1st Bank.

late 14c., "beaver," from Old French castor (13c.), from Latin castor "beaver," from Greek Kastor, literally "he who excels," name of one of the divine twins (with Pollux), worshipped by women in ancient Greece as a healer and preserver from disease.\n

\nHis name was given to secretions of the animal (Latin castoreum), used medicinally in ancient times. (Through this association his name replaced the native Latin word for "beaver," which was fiber.) In English, castor is attested in this sense from c.1600. Modern castor oil is first recorded 1746; it is made from seeds of the plant Ricinus communis but supposedly possesses laxative qualities (and taste) similar to those of beaver juice, and thus so named.

Etymology 1 alt. 1 A pivoting roller attached to the bottom of furniture to allow it to be moved. 2 A hat made from the fur of the beaver. 3 A caster; a container with perforated cap for sprinkling (e.g. ''pepper-castor''). 4 A heavy quality of broadcloth for overcoats. 5 castoreum n. 1 A pivoting roller attached to the bottom of furniture to allow it to be moved. 2 A hat made from the fur of the beaver. 3 A caster; a container with perforated cap for sprinkling (e.g. ''pepper-castor''). 4 A heavy quality of broadcloth for overcoats. 5 castoreum Etymology 2

n. (context mineral English) A variety of petalite found in Elba.

Castor most commonly refers to:

• Castor (star), a star in the Gemini constellation
• Castor, one of the Dioscuri/Gemini twins Castor and Pollux in Graeco-Roman mythology

Castor or CASTOR may also refer to:

Castor (α Gem, α Geminorum, Alpha Geminorum) is the second brightest star in the constellation Gemini and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Although it has the Bayer designation "alpha", it is actually fainter than Beta Geminorum ( Pollux).

Castor was an American indie rock/ emo band from Champaign- Urbana, Illinois. Formed in 1994, they were known for their "fluid" sound, often changing time signatures several times in a song while maintaining the flow of the music. They released two albums, the first self titled in 1995, the second Tracking Sounds Alone posthumously in 1998. Both albums are now out of print and only available in digital format online.

Singer and guitarist Jeff Garber and bassist Derek Niedringhaus recorded an album under the band name " Big Bright Lights" in 1997 which was not released until 2001.

During their existence they toured with other influential Champaign-Urbana acts Braid and Hum amongst others.

Garber went on to play in the bands National Skyline and Year of the Rabbit. Niedringhaus also joined National Skyline, later forming Centaur with Hum singer/guitarist Matt Talbott, the producer of their only single.

Castor is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Valais, Switzerland and the Aosta Valley in Italy. It is the higher of a pair of twin peaks , the other being Pollux, named after the Gemini twins of Roman mythology. Castor's peak is at an elevation of , and it lies between Breithorn and the Monte Rosa. It is separated from Pollux by a pass at , named Passo di Verra in Italian and Zwillingsjoch in German.

Ascents are usually made from the alpine hut Capanna Quintino Sella on the Italian side, by means of the Felikjoch and the long and narrow southeast ridge. From the Swiss side, ascents start from Klein Matterhorn and go by way of the Italian glacier Grand Glacier of Verra and the mountain's west flank. The first ascent was made on August 23, 1861.

Castor and Pollux are also a pair of summits in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA. Located in the Absaroka Range, Castor is 3,308 m, 65 m lower than its twin.

The Castor family of solid-fuel rocket stages and boosters is built by Thiokol (now Orbital ATK) and used on a variety of launch vehicles. They were initially developed as the second-stage motor of the Scout rocket. The design was based on the MGM-29 Sergeant, a surface-to-surface missile developed for the United States Army at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Castor is a data binding framework for Java with some features like Java to Java-to-XML binding, Java-to-SQL persistence, paths between Java objects, XML documents, relational tables, etc. Castor is one of the oldest data binding projects.