cat

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For best results your cat will be an indoor cat, as the outdoor cat sees scenes from the catnip video already and isn't quite the target market, though they do still enjoy it.

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Definitions (96)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (15)

  1. noun A small carnivorous mammal (Felis catus or F. domesticus) domesticated since early times as a catcher of rats and mice and as a pet and existing in several distinctive breeds and varieties.
  2. noun Any of various other carnivorous mammals of the family Felidae, which includes the lion, tiger, leopard, and lynx.
  3. noun The fur of a domestic cat.
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Words tagged cat

dog · hat · myau · kitten · tabby · puma · clowder · grimalkin · cat scratch fever · cheetah · leopard

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

dog ·  wolf ·  snake ·  rat ·  pig ·  bear ·  boy ·  monkey ·  fish ·  rabbit ·  baby ·  monster

Used in the same contextWord Family

cat:   cats ·  Cat

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old English catt, from Germanic *kattuz. Sense 6d, short for catamaran.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English cat, catt, kat, katt, from Anglo-Saxon cat, catt (only in glosses), masculine, = OFries. katte, feminine, = Middle Dutch, Dutch kater, masculine, Middle Dutch katte, Dutch kat, feminine, = Middle Low German kater, masculine, katte, feminine, Low German kater, masculine, katte, feminine, = Middle High German kater, katero, German kater, masculine, Old High German chazzā, cazzā, cazā, Middle High German G. katze, feminine, = Icelandic köttr, masculine, ketta, feminine, = Norwegian katt, masculine, katta, feminine, = Swedish katt, masculine, katta, feminine, = Danish kat, masculine, feminine (not recorded in Gothic (Moesogothic)); cf. Welsh cath = Cornish cath = Irish cat = Gaelic cat = Manx cayt = Breton kaz; Old Bulgarian kotelĭ, masculine, kotŭka, feminine, = Bohemian kot, kocour, masculine, kote, kochka, feminine, = Polish kot, koczor = Russian kotŭ, masculine, koshka, feminine, = Old Prussian catto = Lettish kakjis; Hungarian kaczer = Finn. katti = Turkish qadi = Arabic qitt, qutt, a cat; Hindustani katās, a wildcat, polecat; LGr. κάττα, feminine, New Greek κάτα, γάτα feminine, κάτος, γάτος, masculine; Old French cat, French chat, masculine, chatte, feminine, = Provencal cat, masculine, cata, feminine, = Catalan gat, cat, masculine, cata, feminine, = Spanish Portuguese gato, masculine, gata, feminine, = Italian gatto, masculine, gatta, feminine, a cat; the oldest known forms being L., namely, Late Latin catus (cătus or cātus: cătus occurs in Palladius, about A.D. 350), masculine, Latin catta (once in Martial), feminine, Middle Latin cattus, masculine, catta, feminine, a cat (a domestic cat, as opposed to felis, properly a wildcat: see Felis), a word found earlier in the diminutive catulus, in common classical use in the extended sense of ‘the young of an animal, a kitten, whelp, cub, pup,’ etc. (of a cat, lion, tiger, panther, wolf, bear, hog, and especially of a dog, being regarded in this sense as a diminutive of canis, a dog: see Canis). The original source of the name is unknown. It is supposed, as the cat was first domesticated in Egypt, that the word arose there, and, being established in Italy, spread thence throughout Europe. Hence kitten, kitling, kittle, q. v. In the nautical sense the word is found in most of the languages cited (cf. D. Danish kat, nautical cat, katblok, cat-block, Dutch katrol, ‘cat-roller,’ pulley, etc.), and is generally regarded as a particular use of cat, the animal; cf. dog and horse, as applied to various mechanical contrivances. The connection is not obvious.
  2. from cat, n.
 

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