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It's undeniable - some cats are exceptionally handsome
(photo by Photo Extremist) |
CAT
Noun.
[Old English catt masculine (= Old Norse kottr), catte feminine (= Old Frisian, Middle Dutch katte, Dutch kat, Old High German kazza, German katze),
reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French cat varient of Old & modern French chat from late Latin cattus.}
1(a) An agile, partly nocturnal, quadrupedal carnivorous mammal, Felis catus,
with smooth fur and retractile claws, long domesticated as a pet. OE
1(b) Any of numerous related animals constituting the family Felidae, including the lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, etc.
Also, any of various catlike animals of other taxa. M16
1(c) In full catfish:
(a) any of various mainly freshwater fishes of the order Siluriformes, having several sensory barbels and scaleless bodies;
(b) = wolf-fish s.v WOLF noun;
(c) a cuttlefish or other cephalopod. L16
2(a) figurative. A spiteful person, especially (derogatory) a spiteful or malicious woman; a prostitute (obsolete except in cat-house). ME
2(b) A person, a fellow (usually of a specified kind); a jazz enthusiast. slang. E20
3 A small piece of wood tapering at each end, used in the game of tipcat; the game itself. LME
4 Historical. A moveable penthouse used by besiegers for protection. L15
5 NAUTICAL. (in full cathead, obsolete cat's-head)
a horizontal beam extending from each side of a ship's bow for raising and carrying an anchor;
(in full cat-purchase, cat-tackle) a tackle used in hoisting an anchor to the cathead. L15
6 Historical. In full cat-o'-nine-tails.
A rope whip with nine knotted lashes for flogging sailors, soldiers, or criminals. L17
7 A double tripod with six legs so placed that it always resets on three legs. E19
Cats: people
love cats. I can't claim to be their biggest fan myself. It may just be the specific cats I've known, or perhaps
my inability to get on with
them (I'm starting to feel like a
bigot defending his racist beliefs). However, knowing well how much people love cats (if you love cats, by the way, you're an
ailurophile), and appreciating that they are rather amazing creatures with exceptional abilities, I've chosen to cover
cat in
Lexicolatry not so much because of an interesting etymology (Latin
cattus, which is rather unremarkable), but because of the influence the cat has on our vernacular, as we regularly employ expressions that celebrate its abilities and traits, while also giving tacit acknowledgement to the fact that humans can be exceptionally cruel to cats and we have rather odd superstitions about them (if you're frightened of cats, you might have
ailurophobia).
To bell the cat, for example, is to take the danger of a shared enterprise upon oneself - imagine a plucky young mouse volunteering for the mission of stealthily hanging a bell on the cat's neck during its catnap; imagine him moving
like a cat on hot bricks, knowing full well that if he's detected and
lets the cat out of the bag, he's
not a cat in hell's chance of escape, but will find out quite literally the origin of the expression
like something the cat dragged in after a most unpleasant (and literal) game of
cat and mouse. While it may seem absurd that a mere mouse try
to turn the cat in the pan (reverse the order of nature) by defeating the cat,
putting the cat among the pigeons, if you will, if he does succeed it will
be enough to make a cat laugh and he and his comrades will all be
smiling like a Cheshire cat at his heroics which were, quite frankly,
the cat's pyjamas.
The slender feline's contribution to our language is rather impressive, I'm sure you will agree (and I rather think I've barely cat-scratched the surfaces of these catty impression). If, however, you ever feel just a tad fed up of ailrophiles banging on about how great cats are and how superior their senses are, etc, etc, there are a number of things that you can do better than a cat: you have a better sense of taste (unsurprising, seeing as cat's eat
cat food), you have better colour vision, and you have opposable thumbs, meaning you can operate the
Sky+ remote.
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So cute! But don't ask him to record Sherlock.
(photo by JW Copas) |
Are you an ailurophile or ailurophobe?
Do you have any favourite feline expressions?
Do please deposit your cattiest comments into the litter-box below.