cat
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
- enPR: kăt, IPA: /kæt/, SAMPA: /k{t/
- Audio (US)help, file
- Audio (US-Inland North)help, file
- Rhymes: -æt
[edit] Etymology 1
Old English catt m., catte f., from Germanic *kattuz, from Late Latin cattus; reinforced during Middle English by Old North French cat, a variation of Old (and modern) French chat, also from Late Latin cattus. Cognate with Dutch kat, German Katze, French chat and Spanish and Portuguese gato.
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
cat (plural cats)
- A domesticated species (Felis silvestris) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet.
- Any similar animal of the family Felidae, which includes lions, tigers, etc.
- A catfish.
- A spiteful or angry woman.
- An enthusiast or player of jazz.
- (nautical) A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship.
- (nautical) Contraction of cat-o'-nine-tails.
- No room to swing a cat.
- (slang) A person (usually male); dude (in its non-derogatory senses), guy, fella.
- (slang) A generic term for an earth moving machine, derived from both caterpillar and bobcat.
- (archaic) A sturdy merchant sailing vessel (now only in "catboat").
- (archaic, uncountable) The game of "trap and ball" (also called "cat and dog").
- (archaic, uncountable) The trap of the game of "trap and ball".
[edit] Synonyms
- (any member of Felidae): feline
- (domestic species): housecat
- (man): bloke (UK), chap (British), cove (UK), dude, fellow, guy
- (spiteful woman): bitch
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from cat in the above senses
[edit] Translations
domestic species
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member of Felidae
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catfish
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See catfish |
spiteful woman
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See bitch |
jazz enthusiast
strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship
cat-o'-nine-tails
catboat
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See catboat |
game of "trap and ball" (or "cat and dog")
the trap in the game of "trap and ball"
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to cat (third-person singular simple present cats, present participle catting, simple past and past participle catted)
- (nautical) To hoist (the anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead.
- (nautical) To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
- (slang) To vomit something.
[edit] Translations
raise anchor to cathead
flog
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vomit
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[edit] Etymology 2
Abbreviation of catamaran.
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
cat (plural cats)
- A catamaran.
[edit] Etymology 3
Abbreviation of catenate.
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
cat (plural cats)
- (computing) A ‘catenate’ program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to an output device.
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to cat (third-person singular simple present cats, present participle catting, simple past and past participle catted)
- (computing) To apply the cat command to (a file).
- (computing slang) To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target) usually with no intention of browsing it carefully.
[edit] Etymology 4
Possibly a shortened form of chaotic.
[edit] Adjective
cat (comparative more cat, superlative most cat)
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Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
- (Ireland, informal) terrible, disastrous.
- The weather was cat, so they returned home early.
[edit] Usage notes
This usage is common in speech but rarely appears in writing.
[edit] See also
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] Indonesian
[edit] Noun
cat
[edit] Irish
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: [kat̪ˠ]
[edit] Noun
cat m.
- cat (domestic feline; member of Felidae)
[edit] Declension
- First declension
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Bare forms:
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Forms with the definite article:
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[edit] Mutation
| Irish mutation | |||
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