Cat

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cat¹

  • /ˈkæt/ UK
  • [ˈkʰæt] UK
  • /ˈkæt/ US
  • [ˈkʰæt] US
  • [ˈkʰeə̯t] Inland Northern American
  • /ˈkɛə̯t/ Inland Northern American
  • [ˈkʰɛə̯t] Inland Northern American
  • /ˈkɛt/ Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore
  • [ˈkʰɛt] Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore

Sounds like Cat, Kat, khat, qat · Rhymes with -æt

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *kattuz

Proto-West Germanic *kattu

Old English catt

Middle English cat

English cat

From Middle English cat, catte, from Old English catt (“male cat”), catte (“female cat”), from Proto-West Germanic *kattu, from Proto-Germanic *kattuz, generally thought to be from Late Latin cattus (“domestic cat”) (c. 350, Palladius), from Latin catta (c. 75 A.D., Martial), possibly from an Afroasiatic language. Doublet of gato.

A loan from Afro-Asiatic into European languages would roughly match how the animal itself spread, as genetic studies suggest domestic cats first began to spread out of the Near East / Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic, especially after they became popular and domesticated in Egypt 4000 years ago; they were found in Greece and Italy later, 2500 years ago. However, every proposed source word has presented problems. Adolphe Pictet and many subsequent sources refer to Barabra (Nubian) [script needed] (kaddîska) and "Nouba" (Nobiin) ⲕⲁⲇⲓ̄ⲥ (kadīs, “kadīs”) as possible sources or cognates, but M. Lionel Bender says the Nubian word is a loan from Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa), which has long been thought to be non-Arabic in origin. Jean-Paul Savignac suggests the Latin word is from an Egyptian precursor of Coptic ϣⲁⲩ (šau, “tomcat”) suffixed with feminine -t, but John Huehnergard says "the source … was clearly not Egyptian itself, where no analogous form is attested."

It may be a wanderword. Kroonen says the word must have existed in Germanic from a very early date, as it shows morphological alternations, and suggests that it might have been borrowed from Uralic, compare Northern Sami gađfe (“female stoat”) and Hungarian hölgy (“stoat; lady, bride”) from Proto-Uralic *käďwä (“female (of a fur animal)”).

Cognates

Related to Scots cat (“cat”), North Frisian kaat, kaot, Kat, kåt (“cat”), Saterland Frisian Kat (“cat”), West Frisian kat (“cat”), Alemannic German Chats, Chatz, chatza, chatzu, chatzò, chàzzà, Kàtz (“cat”), Bavarian ckozza, Katz, khoze, kòtze (“cat”), Cimbrian katze, khatz, khatza (“cat”), Dutch kat (“cat”), German Katze (“cat”), German Low German Katt (“cat”), Luxembourgish Kaz (“cat”), Mòcheno kòtz (“cat”), Yiddish קאַץ (kats, “cat”), Danish kat (“cat”), Faroese køttur (“cat”), Icelandic köttur (“cat”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish katt (“cat”), Latin cattus, catus (“cat”), Aromanian cãtush (“cat”), French chat (“cat”), Occitan, Norman cat (“cat”), Portuguese, Spanish gato (“cat”), Breton kaz, kazh (“cat”), Cornish cath, kath (“cat”), Irish cat, cut (“cat”), Scottish Gaelic cat (“cat”), Welsh cath (“cat”), as well as Ancient Greek κάτα (káta), κάττα (kátta, “cat”), Greek γάτα (gáta, “cat”), Turkish kedi (“cat”), and from the same ultimate source Belarusian, Russian кот (kot, “cat”), Ukrainian кіт (kit, “cat”), Polish kot (“cat”), Kashubian kòt (“cat”), Latvian kaķis (“cat”), Lithuanian katė (“cat”), and more distantly Armenian կատու (katu, “cat”), Basque katu (“cat”), Georgian კატა (ḳaṭa, “cat”), Classical Syriac ܩܛܐ, ܩܛܘ (“cat”), Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa, “cat”) alongside dialectal Maghrebi Arabic قَطُّوس (qaṭṭūs, “cat”) (from Berber, probably from Latin).

noun cats · catte

  1. countable A mammal of the family Felidae. Mammals need two genes to make the taste receptor for sugar. Studies in various cats (tigers, cheetahs and domestic cats) showed that one of these genes has mutated and no longer works.
  2. countable, uncountable A carnivorous, four-legged, generally furry domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet. At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.
  3. uncountable The flesh of this animal eaten as food. “[…]—Say, do you mind telling me if people around here really eat cats?” He felt a shiver in the pit of his stomach. “Do they eat cat?” said the little old man, profoundly shocked.
  4. countable, uncountable Any similar, chiefly non-domesticated, carnivorous mammal of the family Felidae, which includes bobcats, caracals, cheetahs, cougars, leopards, lions, lynxes, tigers, and other such species. I grabbed it and ran over to the lion from behind, the cat still chewing thoughtfully on Silent's arm.
  5. broadly, countable Chiefly with a descriptive word: an animal not of the family Felidae which (somewhat) resembles a domestic feline (etymology 1, noun sense 1.1.1). civet cat    polecat
  6. countable, derogatory, figuratively, offensive, uncountable An angry or spiteful person, especially a woman. But, ere one rapid moon its tale has told, / He finds his prize — a cat — a slut — a scold.
  7. countable, dated, figuratively, slang, uncountable An ordinary person, especially a man; a fellow, a guy. Now you've listened to my story / Here's the point that I have made / Cats were born to give chicks fever / Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
  8. US, countable, figuratively, slang, uncountable Synonym of itinerant worker.
  9. countable, figuratively, slang, uncountable A jazz musician; also, an enthusiast of jazz music. a jazz cat
  10. countable, figuratively, obsolete, slang, uncountable Synonym of prostitute. "Tell me. Willie said there was a cat in love with you. That isn't true, is it?" "Yes. It's true," Hudson corrects her, letting her think that by "cat" he means prostitute.
  11. broadly, countable, uncountable A double tripod for holding a plate, etc., with six feet, of which three rest on the ground in whatever position it is placed.
  12. archaic, broadly, uncountable The game of trap ball; also (countable), the trap in that game.
  13. archaic, broadly, countable The pointed piece of wood that is struck in the game of tipcat.
  14. broadly, countable, uncountable A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship. Overhaul down & hook the cat, haul taut. Walk away the cat. When up, pass the cat head stopper. Hook the fish in & fish the anchor.
  15. abbreviation, broadly, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of cat-o'-nine-tails.cat-o'-nine-tails [H]e whipped a black man for disobedience of his orders fifty lashes; and again whipped him with a cat, which he wound with wire, about the same number of stripes;[…] he used this cat on one other man, and then destroyed the cat wound with wire.
  16. archaic, broadly, countable, uncountable Now only in catboat: a sturdy merchant sailing vessel.
  17. broadly, countable, historical, uncountable A wheeled shelter, used in the Middle Ages to protect assailants approaching besieged enemy defences; a cathouse. From behind the narrow slits in the walls of Castellar, crossbowmen and archers took aim at the juddering cat as it came closer.
  18. broadly, countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar A vagina or vulva. "What the hell, so this broad's got a prematurely-gray cat."

Similar: baudrons, cat, domestic cat, grimalkin, housecat, kibty, kitten, kitter, kitty, kitty-cat, kitty witty, malkin

verb cats · catting · catted

  1. transitive To hoist (an anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead. The anchors were catted at the bows of the yacht […]
  2. transitive To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
  3. archaic, slang To vomit. ‘He's going to cat, Maxim,’ said the Pussum warningly. The suave young Russian rose and took Halliday by the arm, leading him away.
  4. To go wandering at night. "He doesn't realize that I know," Lord Callan said, "but it's been pretty obvious that most of his catting about London's darker alleys has been a search for his origins.
  5. To gossip in a catty manner. Men from young to middleaged, with matt faces, vivacious and brightly dressed, catted together in gay groups.

cat²

  • /ˈkæt/ UK
  • [ˈkʰæt] UK
  • /ˈkæt/ US
  • [ˈkʰæt] US
  • [ˈkʰeə̯t] Inland Northern American
  • /ˈkɛə̯t/ Inland Northern American
  • [ˈkʰɛə̯t] Inland Northern American
  • /ˈkɛt/ Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore
  • [ˈkʰɛt] Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore

Sounds like Cat, Kat, khat, qat · Rhymes with -æt

Where it comes from

From concatenate, derived from the program's function of concatenating files. Compare concat.

noun cats

  1. A program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to the standard output.

Similar: baudrons, cat, domestic cat, grimalkin, housecat, kibty, kitten, kitter, kitty, kitty-cat, kitty witty, malkin

verb cats · catting · catted

  1. transitive To apply the cat command to (one or more files).
  2. slang To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target), usually with no intention of browsing it carefully.

cat³

  • /ˈkæt/ UK
  • [ˈkʰæt] UK
  • /ˈkæt/ US
  • [ˈkʰæt] US
  • [ˈkʰeə̯t] Inland Northern American
  • /ˈkɛə̯t/ Inland Northern American
  • [ˈkʰɛə̯t] Inland Northern American
  • /ˈkɛt/ Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore
  • [ˈkʰɛt] Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore

Sounds like Cat, Kat, khat, qat · Rhymes with -æt

Where it comes from

Abbreviations.

noun cats

  1. slang A street name of the drug methcathinone.
  2. abbreviation Abbreviation of catapult.catapult a carrier's bow cats
  3. abbreviation Abbreviation of catalytic converter.catalytic converter
  4. abbreviation Abbreviation of catamaran.catamaran These cats are a lot of fun in the harbor, but they're a real thrill on the open ocean riding ground swells.
  5. abbreviation Abbreviation of category.category
  6. abbreviation Abbreviation of catfish.catfish She missed the fish diet of her own country, and twice every summer she sent the boys to the river, twenty miles to the southward, to fish for channel cat.
  7. slang Any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.)
  8. A ground vehicle which uses caterpillar tracks, especially tractors, trucks, minibuses, and snow groomers.
  9. abbreviation Abbreviation of computed axial tomography; often used attributively, as in “CAT scan” or “CT scan”.computed axial tomography

Similar: baudrons, cat, domestic cat, grimalkin, housecat, kibty, kitten, kitter, kitty, kitty-cat, kitty witty, malkin

adjective

  1. Ireland, colloquial, not comparable Catastrophic; terrible, disastrous. The weather was cat, so they returned home early.

Cat⁴

  • /kæt/

Sounds like cat, khat · Rhymes with -æt

proper noun Cats

  1. A diminutive of the female given names Catherine and Caitlin.

Cat⁵

  • /kæt/

Sounds like cat, khat · Rhymes with -æt

Where it comes from

Abbreviation of Caterpillar (corporation and brand).

noun Cats

  1. slang A piece of heavy machinery, such as a backhoe or bulldozer, of the Caterpillar brand. (Occasionally, loosely, any big yellow machine of the type.) Upon touring the mine, they found it to be a veritable canyon with some monstrous Cats trundling in the background.

Cat⁶

  • /kæt/

Sounds like cat, khat · Rhymes with -æt

Where it comes from

Abbreviation of Catalina (flying boat).

noun Cats

  1. informal A Catalina flying boat.

CAT⁷

noun CATs

  1. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of Central Atlas Tamazight.Central Atlas Tamazight
  2. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of computer-adaptive test.computer-adaptive test
  3. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of common admission test.common admission test
  4. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of civil air transport.civil air transport
  5. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of clear-air turbulence.clear-air turbulence
  6. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of computed axial tomography.computed axial tomography
  7. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of career aptitude test.career aptitude test
  8. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of computer-assisted/aided translation.computer-assisted/aided translation
  9. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of credit authorization terminal.credit authorization terminal
  10. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of citizenship advancement training.citizenship advancement training
  11. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of computer-aided transceiver.computer-aided transceiver
  12. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of cosmic anisotropy telescope.cosmic anisotropy telescope
  13. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of coital alignment technique.coital alignment technique
  14. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of conidial anastomosis tube.conidial anastomosis tube
  15. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase.chloramphenicol acetyltransferase
  16. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of crisis assessment team.crisis assessment team
  17. abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of Consumer Acceptance of Technology.Consumer Acceptance of Technology

proper noun

  1. Centre for Alternative Technology
  2. Counter Assault Team
  3. Citizens Area Transit
  4. Canadian Achievement Tests
  5. Cambridge Antibody Technology
  6. abbreviation Abbreviation of Caterpillar Inc..Caterpillar Inc Caterpillar (CAT)and Boston Consulting Group said their top executives would go but the companies are monitoring the situation closely.

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