catastagmus 
867 
catch 
cataatagmust, n. [NL., < Gr. Rvat*,a "- tS'&SSX 
ning at the nose, < rarairraCriv, drop down, < on, , gJJ 1 ,,",.,""". ,,,,, 
down, + trra&iv, drop, trickle.] In </.. an nlil 
term for coryza and pharyngeal and bronchial 
catarrh. 
catastaltic (knt-a-startik), a. [= Sp. oatastat- 
lii-ii, < lJj. eatafialticvt, < tir. umurraJ.TutAc, lii 
ted for checking, < kuTunri'/'/etv, keep down, 
check, < Kara, down, + nTt'/J.civ, arrange, send.] 
Having power to check, repress, or ivstrain; 
inhibitory : applied to medicines which repress 
i intri>!ty quite 'liili irnt "I tin i- IM< in i oited State*, build* tcotnened lota 
n ,,t ,-\,-nts, and which ma) then- lay from -I IK i; 'lark L-I. f -n 1-1:1:*. ami i, nugatory and in- 
-alli-it riitii.-li-'i/ilirx, him- takrn plan- st-i tivol-oll*. 
upon the'mrlh'i turtto*. M7,... cat-blash (kat'blanh). . Anything 
i IK uliI iiiitiiiinif all tlir inhabitants "f the earth having thin or sloppv, as weak tea. [I'rov. 
Kng.l 
cat-block (kat'lilok), ii. [= I). !)iin. 
1,-n Ililii/.' : M -ci-il l ] anil Mor/.I. \ \in//., 
a two- or three-fold block with an 
iron strap and large hook, used l.> 
Iraw up an anchor to the cat-head. 
.. m luoMulre PI-IJO.U is 
i>ffn si-pt aa\ I . . 
vt-ry ^rut-rally ivt-n up. rvi-u K> UKIM ^I-'I!M L 
-I. I 1 .' ainniint, Mnn-liis'in, Barrandi-, etc.. hoe ui 
\ I. u - Would li:.Mir:il!\ ],-a>l till-Ill to tills 1-1 Ilirlusioil. 
l>i,,-u-:,,. Ill-Will of Sp,-,-i,-.1, p. -Ml. 
Theory of catastrophes. - s <-<- '/"<. <i / >-/M'-/I/>-//M, un- 
der <'(it<i<-tt/xiii. -Syn. 2. Dix<tt>-r, <'iii<i>;t?i. ; 
) ; ri.iisiiiaiiiatinii. tlnali-. 
See also 
of the catantrophists ; cataclysmal. 
part of th<- exordium in which the speakerseeks 
to dispose his hearers to a view of the case fa- 
vorable to his own side, especially by removing 
from their minds what might prejudice them 
[Prov. Eng.] 
I I,,- hypothesis of unifoniuty < -aniiot possess any essen- ca t-brier (kat'bri'er), . A name given in the 
tial simplicity which, previous to inquiry, gives it a . Ian, i *" ft;,.,,,^ ,,, , ,,.- s,,,,/,,, 
upon our asM-nt .,up.-rior t., that of the opposite tain- I "ted Mates to species ol Vilnius. 
-,,, ,,.,,. , uiuu o .., ^. 8 .. u F .^ ^-.v.A.v hypothesis, h"/,,,.,/,. catcall (kat'kal), n. [< mM 
a-ainst it. -2. That part of the Greek drama 3. Subversive in a momentous degree of settled squeaking instrument used in playhouses to 
in which the action, Initiated in the epitasis, usage or law. JP disapprobation or weariness of the per- 
is sitslai 1, continued, and prepared for the The catastrophic creation of 1'eem for the purpose of tormance, or a sound made in imitation of the 
*. .' , _. i. i_ " .1 " t .. i.,. t . , , i , . fif + li iu i i ut PII inariT 
prepared 
ralastrophe. 3. In mcil., constitution, stale, 
or condition, 
catastate (ka-tas'tat), M. [< Gr. *Kardararor 
swamping tin- upper house is ... a power only to be 
nsi-'l on great occasions, when the object is immense, ami 
the party strife unmitigated. 
Baitchut, Eng. Const. (Boston ed.), p. 805. 
i preceding in exhibiting greater stability, 
complexity, and less contained energy. The correspond- 
ing term regarding an anabolic process is annotate. Also 
katastatf. 
In the animal-cell the initial anastates seem always or 
at least generally more complex than the final katastatts. 
M. Foster, Encyc. Brit., XIX. li). 
catastatic (kat-a-stat'ik), a. [< catastate + -tc.] 
Of or relating to catastates. 
catasterism (ka-tas'te-rizm), . [< Gr. Kara- 
aTcpiauuc., a placing among the stars (Karaarc- 
01 being the name of a treatise attributed 
to 
different 
trophes: theopposite of uniformitarianimu. Si-<- 
catastrophe, 3, and cataclysm, 2. 
I And three, more or less contradictory, systems of geo- 
logic thought, each of which might fairly enough claim 
these appellations, standing side by side in Britain. I 
shall call one of them Catastrophitin, another Unlformi- 
tarianism, the third Evolutionism. By Catastrophittn, I 
mean any form of geological speculation which, in order 
to account for the phenomena of geology, supposes the 
tone of this instrument. 
Tin- raf-eaU has struck a damp into generals anil fright- 
ened heroes off the stage. Addition, The Cat-Call. 
with wild atf right. 
OnMt 
1 To ex- 
ds produced by 
His cant, like Merry Andrew's noble vein, 
Catcalls the sects to draw 'em in again. 
Dryden, Prol. to Pilgrim, 1. 40. 
She had too much sense not to know that It was better 
to be hissed and catcalled by her daddy than by a whole 
sea of heads in the pit of Drnry Lane theatre. 
Macaulay, Madame D'Arblay. 
cat-castle (kat'k&s-l), n. In the military engi- 
operatlon of forces different in their nature, or Immeasur- neering of the middle ages, a kind of movable 
ably different In power, from those which we at present 
see in action in the universe. Huxley, Lay Sermons, p. 220. 
tower to cover the sappers as they advanced to 
_ _ a besieged place. Farrow, Mil. Encyc. 
o" r EraTo7t^e V nes,'"giving the" "legends" of "the catastrophist (ka-tas'tro-fist), n. [< catastrophe catch 1 (kach), v. ; pret. and pp. caught (obso- 
ifferent constellations), < naTaarepi&iv, place + -<] One who believes in catastrophism ; a l e te or vulgar catched), ppr. catchin,/. 
among the stars, < Kara, down, + aarepifeiv, 
make into a star, < dart/p, a star: see aster imii. } 
A placing among the stars; a cataloguing or 
catalogue of the stars. 
His catalogue contains no bright star which Is not found 
in the catanterisnm of Eratosthenes. 
Whewell, Hist. Induct. Sciences, I. iv. { 1. 
catastomid, Catastomidae, etc. See catosto- 
mid, etc. 
catastrophe (ka-tas'tro-fe), n. [Formerly also 
cutdstro/ihy; = F. catastrophe = Sp. catdstrofe 
= Pg. catastrophe = It. catastrofe = D. kata- 
cataclysmist. The term is used in geology by writers catchen, cachen, cacchen, kachen, kacchen (also 
mi tlH-oi-eticaldynamicgeologyasthe opposite of unifonni- kecchen, > E. dial, ketch) (pret. caught, COUght, 
tarian, that is, of one who considers that geological causes gAtr rntiitr i-nlitf rmte l-aatf etc rarelv 
now in action are, and have been, essentially the same from eaugHU,eaujte, cante, eagle, gie, ere., rt 
the beginning. The catastrophist maintains that there cached, katched, pp. caught, cagnt, kaunt, cant, 
have been catastrophes, or sudden violent changes in the cagt, etc., rarely cached, cachet) = D. kaatsen 
= MLG. katzen, play at tennis, < OF. cacher, 
cachier, coder (Picard). reg. assibilated chacier, 
P. chasser (> E. chasel, q. v.) = Pr. cassar = 
OSp. cabzar, Sp. cazar = Pg. cacar = It. cacci- 
are, chase, hunt, < ML. "captiare (for which only 
caciare is found), an extended form of L. cap- 
tare, catch, catch at, chase, freq. of capere, pp. 
order of nature, such, for Instance, as would cause the ex 
termination of all forms of life upon the globe, or cover It 
with Ice. 
The eataetrophM Is affirmative, the uuiformitarian is 
negative in his assertions. Whetmll. 
For a generation after geologists had become uniformi- 
t a i ian - In Geology, they remained catastrophM* In Biol- 
ogy. H. Spencer, Data of Ethics, 17. 
strofe = G. katastrophe = Dan. katmtrofe = Sw. catastrophyt (ka-tas'tro-fl), n. Obsolete spell- <<.?, take : see capable.captive, etc. Cr. chase\ 
katastrof, < L. catastropha, < Gr. Karaarpo^ii, an ing of catastrophe. 
overthrowing, a sudden turn or end, < Kara- Catawba (ka-ta'ba), . 
l\4. N mrl 
arpt<t>eiv, overturn, turn suddenly, end, < KOTO, 
down, + arptyetv, tum: see strophe."] 1. The 
arrangement of actions or interconnection of 
causes which constitutes the final event of a 
dramatic piece ; the unfolding and winding up 
of the plot, clearing up difficulties, and closing 
the play; the denouement. The ancients divided a 
play into the protasis, epitasis, catastasis, and catastrophe ; 
that is, the introduction, continuance, heightening, and 
development or conclusion. 
Pat, he conies, like the catastrophe of the old comedy. 
Shak., Lear, i. 2. 
All the actors must enter to complete and make up the 
catastrophe of this great piece. 
Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici, i. 47. 
The Catastrophe of the Poem is finely presaged on this 
occasion. Addison, Spectator, No. 32" 
1. A variety of native 
grape, with red fruit, much cultivated in the 
middle United States, taking its name from the 
Catawba river in the Carolinas, where it was 
first raised. 2. The wine made from this grape. 
It is a light wine, of rich muscadine flavor, much used In 
the United States. Both still and sparkling Catawba wines 
are made. 
Very good in its way 
Is the Verzenay, 
Or the Sillery soft and creamy ; 
But Catawba wine 
Has a taste more divine, 
More dulcet, delicious, and dreamy. 
Lonnfellow, Catawba Wine. 
cat-back (kat'bak), H. A T aut., a small rope fas- 
tened to the hook of the cat-block to facilitate 
hooking into the ring of the anchor, 
cat-beamt (kat'bem), n. Naut., the longest 
The catastrophe, indeed the whole of the last act, is beam of a ship, and one of the principal ones, 
beautifully written. Gi/ord, Int. to Ford, p. xxix. catbill (kat - 
2. A notable event terminating a connected bil), n. A wood- 
series; a finishing stroke or wind-up; specifi- pecker. [North, 
cally, an unfortunate conclusion ; hence, any ^ n ?'il 
great calamity or disaster, especially one hap- cat-bird (kat - 
pening suddenly or from an irresistible cause. 
Here was a mighty revolution, the most horrible and 
portentous catastrophe that nature ever yet saw. 
Wmdimrd, Ess. towards a Nat. Hist, of the Earth. 
He fell, but one sufferer in a common catastrophe. 
W. Phillips, Speeches, p. 6. 
3. In geol., an occurrence of geological impor- 
tance not in harmony with preceding events, 
and not the result of causes acting always in a 
given direction ; a cataclysm. It was once gener- 
ally believed that the earth has " undergone a succession 
of revolutions and aqueous catastrophes interrupted by 
long intervals of tranquillity " (Lyell). The deluge was 
one of these great catastrophes. A similar view Is the 
b6rd), n. A well- 
known oscine 
passerine bird 
of North Amer- 
ica, Mimas caro- 
Hni-iixin, one of 
the mocking- 
thrushes, relat- 
ed to the mock- 
ing-bird, it Is of 
a dark slate-color, 
with a black cap 
and a red vent, and 
is so called because 
Cat-bird .MimtiS 
a doublet of cafcfti 
drive; hunt. 
Ase thet hote weter (hot water] cacheth thane hond 
! humid] out of the kechene ^kitchen]. 
Ancren Jtiwle, p. 171. 
Likes nan of thaim my play 
Bot alle thar kachr. (var. chaise] me away. 
Eng. Metrical Homilies (ed. J. Small), p. 161. 
As thow seest in the sauter in psalme one or tweyne, 
How contricloun is commended ; for it caccheth awey 
syune. Piers Plomnan (B), xli. 178. 
Nowe kyngis, to cache all care away 
Sen 3e ar comen oute of youre kytht, 
Loke noght ye legge agayne oure lay, 
Uppon peyne to lose both lyme and litht. 
York Plays, p. 131. 
2t. To approach ; go to seek speech with. 
The knyghte coueride on his knees with a kaunt herte, 
And caughte his Creatoure that comfurthes us alle. 
IHorte Arthme (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2195. 
3f. To reach ; arrive at. 
The comely coste of Normandye they cachene fulle evene, 
And blythely at Barttete theis holde are arryfede, 
And fyndys a flete there of frendez ynewe. 
Morte Arthurs (E. E. T. S.), 1. 834. 
4. To reach in pursuit or "by special effort, as 
a moving object or one about to move ; come 
up to: as, I caught my friend on the road, or 
just starting; to catch the train. 5. To lay 
hold of; grasp; seize; take: as, to catch a 
sword by the handle. 
William curtesli coj the quen of hire palfrey. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.\ I. 4302. 
The milii hind 
Makes speed to catch the tiger. 
Shak., M. N. D., it 2. 
Ready to catch each other by the throat. 
Shak., Kich. III., i S. 
Giving my book to my servant when I measured, a young 
man caught it out of his hand and ran away with it. 
Pococke, Description of the East, I. 113. 
once common idea that all the living organisms on the its cry of alarm re- a^rt^ifinoii,, A T^ intavnani- onH ~. !-/, 
nrth-l surface had been again and again exterminated, to sembles the mewing of a cat. Its proper song is voluble, Specifically 6. To Intel cept n< 
be succeeded by new creations of plants and animals. varied, and highly musical. It abounds in the shrubbery thing approaching or passing, especially in tne 
