<B>cat's-paw</B> or <B>catspaw, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person used by another to do something unpleasant or dangerous (in allusion to the fable of a fox that used the paw of a cat to rake chestnuts out of the fire). <BR> <I>Ex. If I could ferret out the cat's-paw, he might lead me to her (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a light breeze that ruffles a small stretch of water. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Nautical.) a hitch or twist in the bight of a rope, forming two eyes through which a toggle may be passed. </DL>
<A NAME="catstail">
<B>cat's-tail, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of several plants with parts suggesting the tail of a cat, such as the cattail or certain species of horsetail. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=timothy.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="catstick">
<B>catstick, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the stick or bat in certain games, such as tipcat. </DL>
<A NAME="catsup">
<B>catsup, </B>noun. <B>=ketchup.</B></DL>
<A NAME="catswhisker">
<B>cat's whisker,</B> <B>=cat whisker.</B></DL>
<A NAME="cattail">
<B>cattail, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a tall marsh plant with flowers in long, round, furry, brown spikes; club grass; flag. <DD><B> b. </B>any one of various other related plants. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=catkin or ament.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="cattalo">
<B>cattalo, </B>noun, pl. <B>-loes</B> or <B>-los.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a hybrid of the bison and the domestic cow. Also, <B>catalo.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="cattery">
<B>cattery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-teries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a place for the keeping and breeding of cats. </DL>
<A NAME="cattimandoo">
<B>cattimandoo, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of gum obtained in the East Indies from certain species of the spurges. It is used as a cement. </DL>
<B>cattle, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>animals of the ox family raised for meat, milk, or hides; cows, bulls, steers, heifers, and calves; oxen. <DD><B> b. </B>(formerly) any farm animals; livestock. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) any low, despised people. <BR> <I>Ex. Boys and women are ... cattle of this color (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic.) vermin; insects. </DL>
<A NAME="cattlecake">
<B>cattle cake,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) processed food for cattle, in the form of cakes or blocks. </DL>
<A NAME="cattleegret">
<B>cattle egret,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small, white heron with yellow bill and back, native to the Old World but now found in parts of South America and the southeastern United States. </DL>
<A NAME="cattlefeeder">
<B>cattle feeder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a device for supplying feed in regulated quantities to racks or mangers. </DL>
<A NAME="cattlegrid">
<B>cattle-grid, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a cattle guard. </DL>
<A NAME="cattlegrub">
<B>cattle grub,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a larva of the warble fly. </DL>
<A NAME="cattleguard">
<B>cattle guard,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> parallel iron bars over a hole near a railroad crossing or pasture entrance to prevent cattle from wandering but letting vehicles pass. </DL>
<B>cattleman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a man who raises cattle. <DD><B> 2. </B>a cattle owner. </DL>
<A NAME="cattlepen">
<B>cattle pen,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an enclosure for cattle. </DL>
<A NAME="cattleplague">
<B>cattle plague,</B> <B>=rinderpest.</B></DL>
<A NAME="cattlerun">
<B>cattle run,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a wide extent of grazing land. </DL>
<A NAME="cattleshow">
<B>cattle show,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an exhibition of beef and dairy cattle by breeds for prizes, with a view to the promotion of their improvement and increase. In the United States it is usually combined with an agricultural fair. <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Informal.) a public gathering of Presidential candidates running in a primary election campaign. <BR> <I>Ex. In a cattle show, national candidates are herded into a ballroom, which then becomes a kind of stockyard-showcase (William Safire).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="cattlestall">
<B>cattle stall,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an arrangement other than a halter or tie for securing cattle to a rack or manger. </DL>
<A NAME="cattletick">
<B>cattle tick,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a brown tick, especially of the southern United States and South America, that carries the protozoan which causes Texas fever; Texas fever tick. </DL>
<A NAME="cattlewarble">
<B>cattle warble,</B> <B>=heel fly.</B></DL>
<A NAME="cattleya">
<B>cattleya, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a highly ornamental epiphytic orchid, native of tropical America from Mexico to Brazil. </DL>
<A NAME="catty">
<B>catty</B> (1), adjective, <B>-tier,</B> <B>-tiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>mean and spiteful. <BR> <I>Ex. She made enemies of many of her neighbors with her catty comments.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>catlike; cattish. <DD><B> 3. </B>of or connected with cats; interested in cats. <BR> <I>Ex. The question of open judging at cat shows has frequently been discussed in catty circles (F. Simpson).</I> adv. <B>-cattily.</B> noun <B>cattiness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="catty">
<B>catty</B> (2), noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an Asian unit of weight varying slightly in different countries, generally equal to about 1 1/3 pounds avoirdupois. </DL>
<B>Catullian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of, having to do with, or characteristic of the Roman lyrical poet Catullus, celebrated for his love poems and the elegance of his style. </DL>
<A NAME="catv">
<B>CATV</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>cable TV. <DD><B> 2. </B>community antenna television (a system of television reception using community antenna). </DL>
<A NAME="catwalk">
<B>catwalk, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a narrow place to walk, on a bridge, near the ceiling of a stage, in or around heavy machinery, or in an airship. <BR> <I>Ex. Connected to the boiler room by two catwalks, is the engine room (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="catwhisker">
<B>cat whisker,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Radio.) a very fine, adjustable wire used to make electrical contact with the crystal in a crystal detector. Also, <B>cat's whisker.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="caucasian">
<B>Caucasian, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a member of the so-called white race, including the chief peoples of Europe, southwestern Asia, northern Africa, the Western Hemisphere, Australia, and New Zealand; Caucasoid. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person born or living in the Caucasus. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of or having to do with the so-called white race. <DD><B> 2a. </B>of or having to do with the Caucasus or its inhabitants. <DD><B> b. </B>denoting or having to do with any one of the languages of the Caucasus region, such as Georgian. </DL>
<B>Caucasoid, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>=Caucasian </B>(def. 1). <DD><I>noun </I> a member of one of the Caucasian races; Caucasian. </DL>
<A NAME="caucus">
<B>caucus, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>(U.S.) a meeting of members or leaders of a political party to make plans, choose candidates, or decide how to vote. <BR> <I>Ex. The Craig forces countered with an earlier call for a caucus, and elected their own man (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a similar group in a local council or political party in England. <DD><B> 3. </B>any similar meeting for the private discussion of policy. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to hold a caucus. <BR> <I>Ex. The Public Works Committee caucused privately (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="caudad">
<B>caudad, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Zoology.) toward the tail or posterior end. </DL>
<A NAME="caudal">
<B>caudal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or near the tail; at the posterior end of an animal. <BR> <I>Ex. caudal gills of the damsel-fly.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>like a tail. adv. <B>caudally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="caudalanesthesia">
<B>caudal anesthesia,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> anesthesia produced by means of an injection in the lower part or caudal end of the spine. </DL>
<A NAME="caudalfin">
<B>caudal fin,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fin located at the hind end of fishes. </DL>
<A NAME="caudate">
<B>caudate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a tail. </DL>
<B>caudex, </B>noun, pl. <B>-dices,</B> <B>-dexes.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) <DD><B> 1. </B>the woody base of a perennial plant, which sends up new herbaceous stems each year in place of the old. <DD><B> 2a. </B>the stem or main axis of a tree. <DD><B> b. </B>the stem of a palm or a tree fern. </DL>
<A NAME="caudicle">
<B>caudicle, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) the slender, stalklike appendage of the masses of pollen in orchidaceous plants. </DL>
<A NAME="caudillismo">
<B>caudillismo, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the rule of a caudillo. </DL>
<A NAME="caudillo">
<B>caudillo, </B>noun, pl. <B>-los.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a military leader or dictator in a Spanish-speaking country. </DL>
<A NAME="caudle">
<B>caudle, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a warm drink for sick people, such as wine or ale thickened with gruel or soaked bread, sweetened, and spiced. </DL>
<A NAME="caught">
<B>caught, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> past tense and past participle of <B>catch.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. He caught the ball. The mouse was caught in the trap.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>be caught short,</B> </I>to be without something when needed; be unprepared. <BR> <I>Ex. Dealers will be forced to stock up in the next three months or risk being caught short in the Christmas buying period (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="caul">
<B>caul, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a portion of the membrane enclosing a child in the womb that is sometimes found clinging to the head at birth. It was supposed to bring good luck and to safeguard against drowning. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Rare.) the great omentum. </DL>
