cat

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

cat, n. [AS. cat; akin to D. & Dan. kat, Sw. katt, Icel. köttr, G. katze, kater, Ir. cat, W. cath, Armor. kaz, LL. catus, Bisc. catua, NGr. ga`ta, ga`tos, Russ. & Pol. kot, Turk. kedi, Ar. qitt; of unknown origin. Cf. Kitten.].

•  Any animal belonging to the natural family Felidae, and in particular to the various species of the genera Felis, Panthera, and Lynx. The domestic cat is Felis domestica. The European wild cat (Felis catus) is much larger than the domestic cat. In the United States the name wild cat is commonly applied to the bay lynx (Lynx rufus). The larger felines, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, and cougar, are often referred to as cats, and sometimes as big cats. See Wild cat, and Tiger cat.  [1913 Webster]

  " The domestic cat includes many varieties named from their place of origin or from some peculiarity; as, the Angora cat; the Maltese cat; the Manx cat; the Siamese cat."  [1913 Webster]

  "The word cat is also used to designate other animals, from some fancied resemblance; as, civet cat, fisher cat, catbird, catfish shark, sea cat."  [1913 Webster]

  " Laying aside their often rancorous debate over how best to preserve the Florida panther, state and federal wildlife officials, environmentalists, and independent scientists endorsed the proposal, and in 1995 the eight cats [female Texas cougars] were brought from Texas and released. . . .
  Uprooted from the arid hills of West Texas, three of the imports have died, but the remaining five adapted to swamp life and have each given birth to at least one litter of kittens."  [PJC]
•  A strong vessel with a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and deep waist. It is employed in the coal and timber trade.  Totten.  [1913 Webster]
•  A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.), having six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.  [1913 Webster]
•  An old game;  [1913 Webster]
•  same as cat o' nine tails; as, British sailors feared the cat.  [1913 Webster]
•  A catamaran.  [PJC]

Angora cat, blind cat, See under Angora, Blind. -- Black cat the fisher. See under Black. -- Cat and dog, like a cat and dog; quarrelsome; inharmonious. “I am sure we have lived a cat and dog life of it.” Coleridge. -- Cat block (Naut.), a heavy iron-strapped block with a large hook, part of the tackle used in drawing an anchor up to the cathead. -- Cat hook (Naut.), a strong hook attached to a cat block. -- Cat nap, a very short sleep. [Colloq.] -- Cat o' nine tails, an instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle; -- formerly used to flog offenders on the bare back. -- Cat's cradle, game played, esp. by children, with a string looped on the fingers so, as to resemble small cradle. The string is transferred from the fingers of one to those of another, at each transfer with a change of form. See Cratch, Cratch cradle. -- To bell the cat, to perform a very dangerous or very difficult task; -- taken metaphorically from a fable about a mouse who proposes to put a bell on a cat, so as to be able to hear the cat coming. -- To let the cat out of the bag, to tell a secret, carelessly or willfully. [Colloq.] -- Bush cat, the serval. See Serval.

cat, v. t. 

 To bring to the cathead; as, to cat an anchor. See Anchor.  Totten.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

cat, abbr.
1 computer-assisted (or -aided) testing.
2 Med. computerized axial tomography.

cat, n. & v.
--n.
1 a small soft-furred four-legged domesticated animal, Felis catus.
2 a any wild animal of the genus Felis, e.g. a lion, tiger, or leopard. b = wild cat.
3 a catlike animal of any other species (civet cat).
4 colloq. a malicious or spiteful woman.
5 sl. a jazz enthusiast.
6 Naut. = CATHEAD.
7 = cat-o'-nine-tails.
8 a short tapered stick in the game of tipcat.
--v.tr. (also absol.) (catted, catting) Naut. raise (an anchor) from the surface of the water to the cathead.

Idiom

cat-and-dog (of a relationship etc.) full of quarrels. cat burglar a burglar who enters by climbing to an upper storey. cat flap (or door) a small swinging flap in an outer door, for a cat to pass in and out. cat-ice thin ice unsupported by water. cat-o'-nine-tails hist. a rope whip with nine knotted lashes for flogging sailors, soldiers, or criminals. cat's cradle a child's game in which a loop of string is held between the fingers and patterns are formed. Cat's-eye Brit. propr. one of a series of reflector studs set into a road. cat's-eye a precious stone of Sri Lanka and Malabar. cat's-foot any small plant of the genus Antennaria, having soft woolly leaves and growing on the surface of the ground. cat's-paw
1 a person used as a tool by another.
2 a slight breeze rippling the surface of the water. cat's-tail = reed-mace (see REED(1)). cat's whiskers (or pyjamas) sl. an excellent person or thing. let the cat out of the bag reveal a secret, esp. involuntarily. like a cat on hot bricks (or on a hot tin roof) very agitated or agitatedly. put (or set) the cat among the pigeons cause trouble. rain cats and dogs rain very hard.

Etymology

OE catt(e) f. LL cattus

DEVIL DICTIONARY

cat

n. A soft, indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.

This is a dog,
This is a cat.
This is a frog,
This is a rat.
Run, dog, mew, cat.
Jump, frog, gnaw, rat.
Elevenson

THESAURUS

cat

Abyssinian cat, Adamite, Angora cat, Argus, Cheshire cat, Chinchilla cat, Himalayan cat, Maltese cat, Manx cat, Persian cat, alley cat, barf, bastard, being, belt, bird, blacksnake, bloke, blue cat, blue devils, blues, body, boy, buck, bugger, bullwhack, bullwhip, calico cat, cascade, cast, chap, character, coon cat, cowhide, creature, crop, customer, dods, dorts, duck, dumps, eagle, earthling, feline, feller, fellow, ferret, flagellum, frumps, gee, gent, gentleman, gib, gib-cat, grimalkin, groundling, grumps, guy, hand, hawk, head, heave, homo, horsewhip, house cat, human, human being, individual, jasper, joker, kit, kitling, kitten, kitty, kitty-cat, knout, kurbash, lad, lash, life, living soul, lynx, man, mopes, mortal, mouser, mulligrubs, mumps, nose, one, party, person, personage, personality, pouts, puke, puss, pussy, pussycat, quirt, rawhide, razor strap, scourge, silver cat, single, sjambok, somebody, someone, soul, spew, strap, stud, sulks, sullens, tabby, tabby cat, tellurian, terran, thong, throw up, tiger cat, tom, tomcat, tortoise-shell cat, weasel, whip, whiplash, worldling

ROGET THESAURUS

cat

Scourge

N scourge, rod, cane, stick, ratan, rattan, birch, birch rod, azote, blacksnake, bullwhack, chicote, kurbash, quirt, rawhide, sjambok, rod in pickle, switch, ferule, cudgel, truncheon, whip, bullwhip, lash, strap, thong, cowhide, knout, cat, cat o'nine tails, rope's end, pillory, stocks, whipping post, cucking stool, ducking stool, brank, trebuchet, trebuket, triangle, wooden horse, iron maiden, thumbscrew, boot, rack, wheel, iron heel, chinese water torture, treadmill, crank, galleys, scaffold, block, ax, guillotine, stake, cross, gallows, gibbet, tree, drop, noose, rope, halter, bowstring, death chair, electric chair, gas chamber, lethal injection, firing squad, mecate, house of correction, goaler, jailer, executioner, electrocutioner, lyncher, hangman, headsman, Jack Ketch.

Ship

N ship, vessel, sail, craft, bottom, navy, marine, fleet, flotilla, shipping, man of war, transport, tender, storeship, merchant ship, merchantman, packet, liner, whaler, slaver, collier, coaster, lighter, fishing boat, pilot boat, trawler, hulk, yacht, baggala, floating hotel, floating palace, ocean greyhound, ship, bark, barque, brig, snow, hermaphrodite brig, brigantine, barkantine, schooner, topsail schooner, for and aft schooner, three masted schooner, chasse-maree, sloop, cutter, corvette, clipper, foist, yawl, dandy, ketch, smack, lugger, barge, hoy, cat, buss, sailer, sailing vessel, windjammer, steamer, steamboat, steamship, liner, ocean liner, cruiseship, ship of the line, mail steamer, paddle steamer, screw steamer, tug, line of steamers, destroyer, cruiser, frigate, landing ship, LST, aircraft carrier, carrier, flattop, nuclear powered carrier, submarine, submersible, atomic submarine, boat, pinnace, launch, life boat, long boat, jolly boat, bum boat, fly boat, cock boat, ferry boat, canal boat, swamp boat, ark, bully, battery, bateau, broadhorn, dory, droger, drogher, dugout, durham boat, flatboat, galiot, shallop, gig, funny, skiff, dingy, scow, cockleshell, wherry, coble, punt, cog, kedge, lerret, eight oar, four oar, pair oar, randan, outrigger, float, raft, pontoon, prame, iceboat, ice canoe, ice yacht, catamaran, hydroplane, hovercraft, coracle, gondola, carvel, caravel, felucca, caique, canoe, birch bark canoe, dugout canoe, galley, galleyfoist, bilander, dogger, hooker, howker, argosy, carack, galliass, galleon, polacca, polacre, tartane, junk, lorcha, praam, proa, prahu, saick, sampan, xebec, dhow, dahabeah, nuggah, kayak, keel boat, log canoe, pirogue, quadrireme, trireme, stern-wheeler, wanigan, wangan, wharf boat, balloon, airship, aeroplane, biplane, monoplane, triplane, hydroplane, aerodrome, air balloon, pilot balloon, fire balloon, dirigible, zeppelin, aerostat, Montgolfier, kite, parachute, jet plane, rocket plane, jet liner, turbojet, prop-jet, propeller plane, corporate plane, corporate jet, private plane, private aviation, airline, common carrier, fighter, bomber, fighter-bomber, escort plane, spy plane, supersonic aircraft, subsonic aircraft, afloat, aboard, on board, on ship board, hard a lee, hard a port, hard a starboard, hard a weather.

Animal

N animal, animal kingdom, fauna, brute creation, beast, brute, creature, critter, wight, created being, creeping thing, living thing, dumb animal, dumb creature, zoophyte, mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, crustacean, shellfish, mollusk, worm, insect, arthropod, microbe, microbe, animalcule, alligator, crocodile, saurian, dinosaur (extinct), snake, serpent, viper, eft, asp, aspick, frog, toad, trout, bass, tuna, muskelunge, sailfish, sardine, mackerel, ant, mosquito, bee, honeybee, tardigrade, spider, biped, quadruped, webfoot, flocks and herds, live stock, domestic animals, wild animals, game, ferae naturae, beasts of the field, fowls of the air, denizens of the sea, black game, black grouse, blackcock, duck, grouse, plover, rail, snipe, horse, cattle, kine, ox, bull, bullock, cow, milch cow, calf, heifer, shorthorn, sheep, lamb, lambkin, ewe, ram, tup, pig, swine, boar, hog, sow, steer, stot, tag, teg, bison, buffalo, yak, zebu, dog, cat, dog, hound, pup, puppy, whelp, cur, mongrel, house dog, watch dog, sheep dog, shepherd's dog, sporting dog, fancy dog, lap dog, toy dog, bull dog, badger dog, mastiff, blood hound, grey hound, stag hound, deer hound, fox hound, otter hound, harrier, beagle, spaniel, pointer, setter, retriever, Newfoundland, water dog, water spaniel, pug, poodle, turnspit, terrier, fox terrier, Skye terrier, Dandie Dinmont, collie, feline, puss, pussy, grimalkin, gib cat, tom cat, fox, Reynard, vixen, stag, deer, hart, buck, doe, roe, caribou, coyote, elk, moose, musk ox, sambar, bird, poultry, fowl, cock, hen, chicken, chanticleer, partlet, rooster, dunghill cock, barn door fowl, feathered tribes, feathered songster, singing bird, dicky bird, canary, warbler, finch, aberdevine, cushat, cygnet, ringdove, siskin, swan, wood pigeon, vermin, varmint, pest, animal, zoological equine, bovine, vaccine, canine, feline, fishy, piscatory, piscatorial, molluscous, vermicular, gallinaceous, rasorial, solidungulate, soliped.

Roll

N roll, drumming, berloque, bombination, rumbling, tattoo, drumroll, dingdong, tantara, rataplan, whirr, ratatat, ratatat-tat, rubadub, pitapat, quaver, clutter, charivari, racket, cuckoo, repetition, peal of bells, devil's tattoo, reverberation, clickety-clack, hum, purr, hummingbird, cat, kitten (animal sounds), rolling, monotonous, like a bee in a bottle.

Vision

N vision, sight, optics, eyesight, view, look, espial, glance, ken, coup d'oeil, glimpse, glint, peep, gaze, stare, leer, perlustration, contemplation, conspection, conspectuity, regard, survey, introspection, reconnaissance, speculation, watch, espionage, espionnage, autopsy, ocular inspection, ocular demonstration, sight-seeing, point of view, gazebo, loophole, belvedere, watchtower, field of view, theater, amphitheater, arena, vista, horizon, commanding view, bird's eye view, periscope, visual organ, organ of vision, eye, naked eye, unassisted eye, retina, pupil, iris, cornea, white, optics, orbs, saucer eyes, goggle eyes, gooseberry eyes, short sight, clear sight, sharp sight, quick sight, eagle sight, piercing sight, penetrating sight, clear glance, sharp glance, quick glance, eagle glance, piercing glance, penetrating glance, clear eye, sharp eye, quick eye, eagle eye, piercing eye, penetrating eye, perspicacity, discernment, catopsis, eagle, hawk, cat, lynx, Argus, evil eye, basilisk, cockatrice, seeing, visual, ocular, optic, optical, ophthalmic, clear-eyesighted, eagle-eyed, hawk-eyed, lynx-eyed, keen- eyed, Argus-eyed, visible, visibly, in sight of, with one's eyes open at sight, at first sight, at a glance, at the first blush, prima facie, Int, look!, the scales falling from one's eyes, an eye like Mars to threaten or command, her eyes are homes of silent prayer, looking before and after, thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes.