cat 
Talk, miss! It's eim "-//< '" """'.' " Tom ent nfenfc French 
grammar, only to sec ho she losses her head. 
lln-kenx, Nicholas \icklele,. 
Maltese cat. a variety "f cat distinguished by its fur, 
which in "f a blue-gray "'I'"'. Sometimes called '/'' I-,H. 
Manx Cat, a tallies variety ..I '< -at I nun tlir Isle of Man. 
Persian Cat. Same us .lifii>rni-nt. Stnml. Xnl. Hist. 
To bell the cat. see '"'. To grin like a Cheshire 
it to ibow the gums and teeth In laughing: a local Bag- 
UUprOTCrblftl expression, of unknown origin. 
"Please, woul.l yc.n tell me," said Alice. a little timid- 
ly, ... " wh\ your eat /*//(.- like that?" "It's a Cheittiirr 
cat," said the Duchess, "ami that's why." 
L. Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, vi. 
I,o! like n <'Iie*liire eat our court will -inn. 
tola* (?. I'iniliir). 
To let the cat out of the bag, to.ii> ( ],, a trick; i, i 
out 11 secret: saiil to have had its origin in a trick prac- 
tiseil Ijy country people of substituting a cat for a >OUIIK 
pit! too bringing it to market In a bag to sell to some one 
thoughtless enough to "buy a pig in a poke." The pur- 
chaser xtmct lines thought, however, t if opening the hag he 
fore the bargain was concluded, ami thus let out the cat 
and disclosed the trick. To rain cats and dogs, to pour 
down rain violently and incessantly. -To turn a cat-ln- 
pan, to make a sudden change ofjiarty in politics or reli- 
gion from intere-t'-il motives. "The phrase M>mi t" he 
the Frencho-iiii-Ho-CNo' en i'inf (to turn sides In trouble).' 
Brriree. 
\\'liell (ieorge in pudding-time came o er, 
And moderate men looked big, sir, 
I turned a cat-in-imn once more, 
And so became a Whig, sir. Vicar of Bray. 
cat 1 (kat), ?'. ; pret. and pp. catted, ppr. catting. 
[< cot 1 , .] I. trans. 1. To draw (an anchor) 
tip to the cat-head. 
All hands cook, steward, and all laid hold to cat 
the anchor. It. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 1-2:1. 
Everything was now snug forward, the anchor railed and 
fished, and the decks clear. 
W. C. Russell, Sailor's Sweetheart, iii. 
2. [Cf. caft, ., 14.] To fill with soft clay, as 
the intervals between laths : as, a chimney well 
catted. 
II. in trans. To fish for catfish. [Colloq., 
western U. S.] 
cat- (kat), . An abbreviated form of catama- 
ran. [Newfoundland.] 
cat-. The form of cata- before a vowel. 
cata-. [L., etc., cata-, < Gr. Kara- (before a 
vowel MZT-, before an aspirate not)-), prefix, KOTO, 
prep., down, downward, through, on, against, 
concerning, according to, etc.] A prefix of 
words of Greek origin, meaning down, down- 
ward, against, in accordance with, sometimes 
merely intensive, and sometimes (like English 
be- 1 ) giving a transitive force. See words fol- 
lowing. Also sometimes kata-. 
cataballitive (kat-a-bal'i-tiv), a. [< Gr. nara- 
[idWctv, throw down (< KOTO, down, + /3<Ufon>, 
throw), + -Hive.] Depressing. [Rare.] 
catabaptist (kat-a-bap'tist), n. [< LGr. nara- 
/iairTarriK, lit. ' one who drowns,' coined by 
Gregory of Nazianzus, as opposed to pairnarfa, 
a baptizer, < Gr. Kara/faTrrifffv, dip under water, 
drown, < Kara, down (here used in the sense of 
'against'), + /3Wrrtfeo, dip.] One who opposes 
baptism. 
catabasia (kat-a-ba'si-il), n.; pi. catabasue (-e) 
(or, as Gr., catdbasiai). [Gr. narajiaala, also aa- 
raifiaeia, equiv. to nardftaatc, a coming down, 
descent (cf. Karafidaioc;, also Karat/idaiof, coming 
down, descending), < Karajiaiveiv, come down: 
see catabasis.] In the Gfr. f'h., a kind of tro- 
parion or short hymn sung by the two sides of 
the choir united in the body of the church. It 
is so called from their descending from their 
places for that purpose. 
A sticheron, in which the two choirs come down (<cara- 
/Scui-ouo-i), and join together in the body of the church. 
The hirmos are sometimes said at the end of their respec- 
tive odes as catabasiai. 
J. M. Neale, Eastern Church, i. 845. 
catabasion (kat-a-ba'si-on), n. ; pi. catabasia 
(-a). Same as catabasis. 
catabasis (ka-tab'a-sis), n. ; pi. catabases (-sez). 
[L. catabasis, < Gr. Kardpaaic, a going down, de- 
scent, declivity, also in MGr. like Kara/ldaim, a 
place for relics under the altar, < naraflalveiv, go 
down, descend, < Kara, down, -I- fiaiveiv,go, ~> pa- 
ste,, agoing: see basis. Cf. anabasis.] I. A go- 
ing down; descent: opposed to anabasis (which 
see). 2. In the Gr. Ch., a chamber or vault 
situated under the altar, and used as a chapel 
to contain relics. ., 
catabolic (kat-a-bol'ik), a. [< catabol-ism + -ic.] 
Relating to or of the nature of catabolism. 
This total change which we denote by the term " meta- 
bolism" as consisting on the one hand of a downward 
series of changes (katabolic changes). 
.V. Foster, Encyc. Brit., XIX. IS. 
868 
of metabolism which consists in "a downward 
series of changes in which complex bodies itiv 
broken down with the setting free of energy 
int<j simpler and simpler waste bodies" (if. 
t-'oxtrr): opposed to atutbolixm. 
Tin- ingenious ^peculations of llering, that specific col 
>iur-sciisati"ii- arc iluc to the relation of assimilation 
(anabolism) to dissimilation (kataboHmn) of protoplasmic 
visual suhstauces in the retina or in the brain. 
I/. Fotttr, Kncyc. Brit., XIX. -2-2. 
catacathartic (kat'a-ka-thar'tik), n. [< Gr. 
kurii, down, + Ka0aprin6c, purging: see M. 
thai-tic.] A medicine that purges downward. 
[Rare.] 
catacaustic (kat-a-kas'tik), a. and n. [< <!r. 
Kara, against, + rawm/oif, caustic: see cauxtir.] 
I. a. In neam., belonging to caustic curves 
formed by reflection. 
II. n. In o/iticn, a caustic curve formed by 
the reflection of the rays of light: so called 
The Catacaustic of a Circle, with its Asymptotes. 
The curve runs from M to the cusp A, thence to the cusp !. thence 
to the cusp A '. thence to M', and through infinity to -V, thence to the 
cusp D, thence to JV, and through infinity back to M; C, center ; F. 
focus. 
to distinguish it from the diacaustic, which is 
formed by refracted rays. See caustic, n., 3. 
catachresis (kat-a-kre'sis), n.; pi. catachreses 
(-sez). [L. (> F."catachr^se = Sp. catacrfsis = 
i), < Gr. 
.. , . 
catabolism (ka-tab'o-lizm), n. [< Gr. , 
a throwing or laying down (< Karaf)d).fciv: see 
cataballitire), + -ism.] In physiol., that phase 
Pg. cataclirese = It. catacresi), 
misuse of a word, < naraxpijaQcu, misuse, < KOTO, 
against, + xp^"^ a 'j use.] 1. In rhet. : (a) A fig- 
ure by which a word is used to designate an ob- 
ject, idea, or act to which it can be applied only 
by an exceptional or undue extension of its 
proper sphere of meaning : as, to stone (pelt) a 
person with bricks; a palatable tone; to display 
one's horsemanship in riding a mule; to drink 
from a horn of ivory. Catachresis differs from meta- 
phor in that it does not replace one word with another 
properly belonging to a different act or object, but extends 
the use of a word in order to apply it to something for 
which the language supplies no separate word, (b) A 
violent or inconsistent metaphor : as, to bend 
the knee of one's heart; to take arms against 
a sea of troubles, (c) In general, a violent or 
forced use of a word. 2. In philol., the em- 
ployment of a word under a false form through 
misapprehension in regard to its origin : thus, 
causeway and crawfish or crayfish have their 
forms by catachresis. 
catachrestic, catachrestical (kat-a-kres'tik, 
-ti-kal), a. [\ Gr. KaraxpijariKOe, misused, misap- 
plied (of words and phrases), < KaraxpijaBai, mis- 
use : see catachresis.] In rhet. : (a) Pertaining 
to, consisting in, or characterized by catachre- 
sis ; applied in an improper signification. (6) 
Wrested from the right meaning or form; 
contrary to proper use ; forced ; far-fetched. 
catachrestically (kat-a-kres'ti-kal-i), adv. In 
a catachrestical manner ; by catachresis. 
There are . . . collections of beings, to whom the no- 
tion of number cannot be attached, except catachrestically, 
because, taken individually, no positive point of real 
agreement can be found between them, by which to call 
them. J. H. Newman, Gram, of Assent, p. 46. 
catachthonic (kat-ak-thon'ik), a. [< Gr. /card, 
down, below, -t- ^Suv, earth, + -ic.] Situated 
beneath the surface of the earth; underground. 
Professor Milne of Japan, says the "Athenaeum," has es- 
tablished in the Takashima coal-mine, near Nagasaki, an 
underground, or, as he prefers to call it, a catachthcmif, 
observatory. Science, IV. 286. 
cataclysm (kat'a-klizm}, n. [= F. cataclysme 
= Sp. It. cataclismo = Pg. cataclysmo, < L. cote- 
clysmos, < Gr. naTaidvo[i6c, a flood, deluge, < 
KarmAifyiv, dash over, flood, inundate, < Hard, 
down, + M-&IV, wash, dash, as waves; cf. L. 
cluere, cleanse.] 1. A deluge or an overflow- 
ing of water; a flood; specifically, the Noa- 
chian flood. 2. In geol., an inundation or del- 
uge, or other violent and sudden physical ac- 
tion of great extent, supposed to have been the 
catacomb 
various phenomena (M of the 
deposition of different fornmtiun.s of diluvium 
or drift) for which tin- ^nuliuil nHlon of mod- 
erate currents, or Unit of iee, is considered to 
have been in;ul<'quale. 
This war is im a< ciil.-rit. hut an nn:\ ilaiili- i r-nlt nf l,,ng- 
incnliatinn cilii-'CH ; inr\ ilalili a, tin- ''"'"' /,</""* that sweep 
auay UN monstrous births of primeval nature. 
ii. 1C. //Wm.-x, (lid Vol. ,.f Life. p. 82. 
3. Figuratively, a sudden or violent action of 
overwhelming force and extended sweep. 
In minds accustomed to philosophic thought a change 
of opinion dues not i-'iinc ti> a IN uj,t <'<tt<n'l ,/.-,,/, but by grad- 
ual development. ././,'.>''. Nat lid igion, p. 231. 
Theory of cataclysms, < >r of catastrophes, also called 
the 'l'i<-ti i/ie </ ri'ileitt uj.li>'ai'it/<, III'- vii u that there has 
hi'. II III LlrnlnL-irnl till I.- a ^nccc^iMM c ,t cat a -t I i ,|il H > which 
It -.timed all living tiiiiiL's, and necessitated repeated ere- 
ittn ieti t" rapaoplt the earth. > I fntattroplte. 
cataclysmal (kat-a-kliz'mal), a. [< cataclysm 
+ -a/.] 1. Of, pertaining to, or of the na- 
ture of a cataclysm. 
The question Is not yet settled whether they [elevations 
and subsidences] were of a slow and gradual nature like 
some now in progress, or whether, like others that have 
occurred in connection with earthquakes, they may have 
been rapid and cataclymnal. 
J. W. Dau'ion, Nature and the Bible, p. 161. 
The French Revolution has been so often lifted by sen- 
sational writers into the region of cataclysmal and almost 
superhuman occurrences, that a narrative Is especially 
acceptable which tends to range it among the facts hieh 
appeal to our ordinary experience. 
Wertmiiuttr Rev., CXXV. 568. 
2. Of or pertaining to cataclysmists ; holding 
the doctrine of violent upheavals : as, the cat- 
aclysmal school of geologists. 
cataclysmic (kat-a-kliz'mik), o. [< cataclysm 
+ -ic; = F. cataelysinique.] Pertaining to, of 
the nature of, or characterized by cataclysms. 
In the reign of his [Frederick's] graudnephew, whose 
evil lot fell on the cataclysmic times of Napoleon. 
/.",.-. Bismarck, I. 43. 
There has always been in Geology a tendency to cata- 
clysmic theories of causation ; a proneness to attribute the 
grand changes experienced by the earth's crust to extra- 
ordinary causes. ./. ('roll. Climate and Cosmology, p. 11. 
cataclysmist (kat -a-kliz' mist), . [< cata- 
clysm + -ist.] One who believes that many 
important geological phenomena are due to 
cataclysms. 
catacomb (kat'a-kom), n. [= G. katakombe = 
Sw. Dan. katakomb = Russ. katakombui, pi., < 
F. catacombe = Pr. cathacumba = Sp. catacumba 
= Pg. catacumba (usually in plural), < It. cata- 
comba (Sp. also occasionally catatumba, It. dial. 
catatomba, simulating Sp. tumba, It. tomba, 
tomb: see tomb), < LL. catacumba, a sepulchral 
vault, < Gr. Kurd, downward, below, + /dyi/J^, a 
hollow, cavity, > ML. cumba, a tomb of stone: 
see comb 3 , coomb.] Originally, the name of a 
locality near Rome, the "Hollows," in which 
the church of St. Sebastian, with extensive 
burial-vaults, was built ; but afterward applied 
to the vaults themselves, and to similar under- 
ground burial-places. The most celebrated of these 
subterranean vaults are those in and about this spot, the 
work of the early Christians. They consist ora labyrinth 
of narrow galleries, from 4 to 5 feet wide, at different lev- 
Catacomb. 
Tomb of St. Cornelius. Catacombs of Colixtus, Rome. 3d century. 
( From Roller's " Catacombes de Rome." ) 
els, excavated in the soft granular tufa underlying the 
Campagna. In each wall locull, or berth-like recesses, 
contained the bottles of the dead. The entrances to these 
were closed with slabs of stone, carefully sealed, and 
marked with inscriptions or rude pictures. In some cases 
small rooms, called cubicida, were set apart for families of 
distinction hi the church, especially for martyre. Though 
