Etymology

water bear

Today it means: A member of the animal phylum Tardigrada. Full definition →

German Wasserbär
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The story

  1. German · calque ofWasserbär
  2. English todaywater bear

Calque of German Wasserbär, used to describe these animals by Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773. Equivalent to water + bear.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.