Chapter 19

Cat`a*lec"tic (?), a. [L. catalecticus, Gr. &?; incomplete, fr. &?; to leave off; kata` down, wholly + lh`gein to stop.] 1. (Pros.) Wanting a syllable at the end, or terminating in an imperfect foot; as, a catalectic verse.

2. (Photog. & Chem.) Incomplete; partial; not affecting the whole of a substance. Abney.

{ Cat"a*lep`sy (?), ||Cat`a*lep"sis (?), } n. [NL. catalepsis, fr. Gr. &?; a seizure, fr. &?; to seize upon; kata` down + &?; to take, seize.] (Med.) A sudden suspension of sensation and volition, the body and limbs preserving the position that may be given them, while the action of the heart and lungs continues.

Cat`a*lep"tic (?), a. [Gr. katalhptiko`s.] Pertaining to, or resembling, catalepsy; affected with catalepsy; as, a cataleptic fit.

||Cat`al*lac"ta (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;. See Catallactics.] (Zo÷l.) A division of Protozoa, of which MagosphŠra is the type. They exist both in a myxopod state, with branched pseudopodia, and in the form of ciliated bodies united in free, spherical colonies.

Cat`al*lac"tics (?) n. [Gr. &?; to exchange; kata` wholly + &?; to change.] The science of exchanges, a branch of political economy.

Cat"a*log (?), n. & v. Catalogue.

Cat"a*lo*gize (?), v. t. To insert in a catalogue; to register; to catalogue. [R.] Coles.

Cat"a*logue (?), n. [F., fr. catalogus, fr. Gr. &?; a counting up, list, fr. &?; to count up; kata` down, completely + &?; to say.] A list or enumeration of names, or articles arranged methodically, often in alphabetical order; as, a catalogue of the students of a college, or of books, or of the stars.

Card catalogue, a catalogue, as of books, having each item entered on a separate card, and the cards arranged in cases by subjects, or authors, or alphabetically. -- Catalogue raisonnÚ (?) [F.], a catalogue of books, etc., classed according to their subjects.

Syn. -- List; roll; index; schedule; enumeration; inventory. See List.

Cat"a*logue, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Catalogued (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Cataloguing (?).] To make a list or catalogue; to insert in a catalogue.

Cat"a*log`uer (?), n. A maker of catalogues; esp. one skilled in the making of catalogues.

Ca*tal"pa (?), n. [From the language of the Indians of Carolina, where Catesby discovered this tree in the year 1726.] (Bot.) A genus of American and East Indian trees, of which the best know species are the Catalpa bignonioides, a large, ornamental North American tree, with spotted white flowers and long cylindrical pods, and the C. speciosa, of the Mississipi valley; -- called also Indian bean.

Ca*tal"y*sis (?), n.; pl. Catalyse. (#) [ML., fr. Gr. &?; dissolution, fr. &?; to destroy, dissolve; kata` down, wholly + &?; to loose.]

1. Dissolution; degeneration; decay. [R.]

Sad catalysis and declension of piety. Evelyn.

2. (Chem.) (a) A process by which reaction occurs in the presence of certain agents which were formerly believed to exert an influence by mere contact. It is now believed that such reactions are attended with the formation of an intermediate compound or compounds, so that by alternate composition and decomposition the agent is apparenty left unchanged; as, the catalysis of making ether from alcohol by means of sulphuric acid; or catalysis in the action of soluble ferments (as diastase, or ptyalin) on starch. (b) The catalytic force.

Cat`a*ly"tic (?), a. Relating to, or causing, catalysis. "The catalytic power is ill understood." Ure.

Catalytic force, that form of chemical energy formerly supposed to determine catalysis.

Cat`a*lyt"ic, n. (Chem.) An agent employed in catalysis, as platinum black, aluminium chloride, etc.

Cat`a*ma*ran", n. [The native East Indian name.] 1. A kind of raft or float, consisting of two or more logs or pieces of wood lashed together, and moved by paddles or sail; -- used as a surf boat and for other purposes on the coasts of the East and West Indies and South America. Modified forms are much used in the lumber regions of North America, and at life-saving stations.

2. Any vessel with twin hulls, whether propelled by sails or by steam; esp., one of a class of double- hulled pleasure boats remarkable for speed.

3. A kind of fire raft or torpedo bat.

The incendiary rafts prepared by Sir Sidney Smith for destroying the French flotilla at Boulogne, 1804, were called catamarans. Knight.

4. A quarrelsome woman; a scold. [Colloq.]

||Cat`a*me"nia (kăt`&adot;*mē"n&ibreve;*&adot;), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ta` katamh`nia.] (Med.) The monthly courses of women; menstrual discharges; menses.

Cat`a*me"ni*al (-al), a. [Gr. katamh`nios monthly; kata` down, back, again + mh`n month.] Pertaining to the catamenia, or menstrual discharges.

Cat"a*mite (kăt"&adot;*mīt), n. [L. Catamitus, an old form of Ganymedes Ganymede, Gr. Ganymh`dhs.] A boy kept for unnatural purposes.

Cat"a*mount (-mount), n. [Cat + mount; cf. Sp. gato montes mountain cat.] (Zo÷l.) The cougar. Applied also, in some parts of the United States, to the lynx.

Cat"a*nad`ro*mous (?), a. [Gr. kata` down + 'ana` up + dro`mos running, course.] (Zo÷l.) Ascending and descending fresh streams from and to the sea, as the salmon; anadromous. [R.]

Cat"a*pasm (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to besprinkle; kata` down, wholly + &?; to strew, or sprinkle.] (Med.) A compound medicinal powder, used by the ancients to sprinkle on ulcers, to absorb perspiration, etc. Dunglison.

Cat`a*pel"tic (?), a. Of or pertaining to a catapult.

Cat`a*pet"al*ous (?), a. [Pref. cata + petalous.] (Bot.) Having the petals held together by stamens, which grow to their bases, as in the mallow.

Cat`a*phon"ic (?), a. Of or relating to cataphonics; catacoustic.

Cat`a*phon"ics (?), n. [Pref. cata + phonic: cf. F. cataphonique.] (Physics) That branch of acoustics which treats of reflected sounds; catacoustics.

Cat"a*phract (k&act;t"&ador;*frăkt), n. [L. cataphractes, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; covered, fr. &?; to cover; kata` down, wholly + fra`ssein to inclose.] 1. (Mil. Antiq.) Defensive armor used for the whole body and often for the horse, also, esp. the linked mail or scale armor of some eastern nations.

2. A horseman covered with a cataphract.

Archers and slingers, cataphracts, and spears. Milton.

3. (Zo÷l.) The armor or plate covering some fishes.

Cat"a*phract`ed (?), a. (Zo÷l.) Covered with a cataphract, or armor of plates, scales, etc.; or with that which corresponds to this, as horny or bony plates, hard, callous skin, etc.

Cat`a*phrac"tic (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a cataphract.

Cat`a*phys"ic*al, a. [Pref. cata + physical.] Unnatural; contrary to nature. [R.]

Some artists . . . have given to Sir Walter Scott a pile of forehead which is unpleassing and cataphysical. De Quincey.

Cat"a*plasm (?), n. [L. cataplasma, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to spread over; kata` down, wholly + &?; to form, mold.] (Med.) A soft and moist substance applied externally to some part of the body; a poultice. Dunglison.

Cat"a*puce (?), n. [F.] (Bot.) Spurge. [Obs.]

Cat"a*pult (?), n. [L. catapulta, Gr. &?;, prob. from kata` down + &?; to shake, hurl.]

1. (Mil. Antiq.) An engine somewhat resembling a massive crossbow, used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for throwing stones, arrows, spears, etc.

2. A forked stick with elastic band for throwing small stones, etc.

Cat"a*ract (?), n. [L. cataracta, catarracles, a waterfall, Gr. &?;, &?;, fr. &?; to break down; in the passive, to fall or rush down (of tumors) to burst; kata` down + &?; to break.] 1. A great fall of water over a precipice; a large waterfall.

2. (Surg.) An opacity of the crystalline lens, or of its capsule, which prevents the passage of the rays of light and impairs or destroys the sight.

3. (Mach.) A kind of hydraulic brake for regulating the action of pumping engines and other machines; -- sometimes called dashpot.

Cat`a*rac"tous (?), a. Of the nature of a cataract in the eye; affected with cataract.

Ca*tarrh" (?), n. [L. catarrhus, Gr. &?;, &?;, a running down, rheum, fr. &?;; kata` down + &?; to flow. See Stream.] (Med.) An inflammatory affection of any mucous membrane, in which there are congestion, swelling, and an altertion in the quantity and quality of mucus secreted; as, catarrh of the stomach; catarrh of the bladder.

&fist; In America, the term catarrh is applied especially to a chronic inflammation of, and hypersecretion fron, the membranes of the nose or air passages; in England, to an acute influenza, resulting a cold, and attended with cough, thirst, lassitude, and watery eyes; also, to the cold itself.

Ca*tarrh"al (?), a. Pertaining to, produced by, or attending, catarrh; of the nature of catarrh.

Cat"ar*rhine (?), n. [Gr. kata`rris with hanging or curved nose; kata` down + "ri`s, "rino`s nose.] (Zo÷l.) One of the Catarrhina, a division of Quadrumana, including the Old World monkeys and apes which have the nostrils close together and turned downward. See Monkey.

Ca*tarrh"ous (?), a. Catarrhal. [R.]

Cat`a*stal"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to check; kata` down, wholy + &?; to set.] (Med.) Checking evacuations through astringent or styptic qualities.

||Ca*tas"ta*sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to set; kata` down + &?; to place.] 1. (Rhet.) That part of a speech, usually the exordium, in which the orator sets forth the subject matter to be discussed.

2. (Med.) The state, or condition of anything; constitution; habit of body.

Ca*tas"ter*ism (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to place among the stars.] A placing among the stars; a catalogue of stars.

The catasterisms of Eratosthenes. Whewell.

Ca*tas"tro*phe (?), n. [L. catastropha, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to turn up and down, to overturn; kata` down + &?; to turn.] 1. An event producing a subversion of the order or system of things; a final event, usually of a calamitous or disastrous nature; hence, sudden calamity; great misfortune.

The strange catastrophe of affairs now at London. Bp. Burnet.

The most horrible and portentous catastrophe that nature ever yet saw. Woodward.

2. The final event in a romance or a dramatic piece; a denouement, as a death in a tragedy, or a marriage in a comedy.

3. (Geol.) A violent and widely extended change in the surface of the earth, as, an elevation or subsidence of some part of it, effected by internal causes. Whewell.

Cat`a*stroph"ic (?), a. Of a pertaining to a catastrophe. B. Powell.

Ca*tas"tro*phism (?), n. (Geol.) The doctrine that the geological changes in the earth's crust have been caused by the sudden action of violent physical causes; -- opposed to the doctrine of uniformism.

Ca*tas"tro*phist (?), n. (Geol.) One who holds the theory or catastrophism.

Ca*taw"ba (?), n. 1. A well known light red variety of American grape.

2. A light-colored, sprightly American wine from the Catawba grape.

Ca*taw"bas (?), n. pl.; sing. Catawba. (Ethnol.) An Appalachian tribe of Indians which originally inhabited the regions near the Catawba river and the head waters of the Santee.

Cat"bird (?), n. (Zo÷l.) An American bird (Galeoscoptes Carolinensis), allied to the mocking bird, and like it capable of imitating the notes of other birds, but less perfectly. Its note resembles at times the mewing of a cat.

Cat"boat` (?), n. (Naut.) A small sailboat, with a single mast placed as far forward as possible, carring a sail extended by a gaff and long boom. See Illustration in Appendix.

Cat"call` (?), n. A sound like the cry of a cat, such as is made in playhouses to express dissatisfaction with a play; also, a small shrill instrument for making such a noise.

Upon the rising of the curtain. I was very much surprised with the great consort of catcalls which was exhibited. Addison.

Catch (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caught (?) or Catched (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Catching. Catched is rarely used.] [OE. cacchen, OF. cachier, dialectic form of chacier to hunt, F. chasser, fr. (assumend) LL. captiare, for L. capture, V. intens. of capere to take, catch. See Capacious, and cf. Chase, Case a box.]

1. To lay hold on; to seize, especially with the hand; to grasp (anything) in motion, with the effect of holding; as, to catch a ball.

2. To seize after pursuing; to arrest; as, to catch a thief. "They pursued . . . and caught him." Judg. i. 6.

3. To take captive, as in a snare or net, or on a hook; as, to catch a bird or fish.

4. Hence: To insnare; to entangle. "To catch him in his words". Mark xii. 13.

5. To seize with the senses or the mind; to apprehend; as, to catch a melody. "Fiery thoughts . . . whereof I catch the issue." Tennyson.

6. To communicate to; to fasten upon; as, the fire caught the adjoining building.

7. To engage and attach; to please; to charm.

The soothing arts that catch the fair. Dryden.

8. To get possession of; to attain.

Torment myself to catch the English throne. Shak.

9. To take or receive; esp. to take by sympathy, contagion, infection, or exposure; as, to catch the spirit of an occasion; to catch the measles or smallpox; to catch cold; the house caught fire.

10. To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.

11. To reach in time; to come up with; as, to catch a train.

To catch fire, to become inflamed or ignited. -- to catch it to get a scolding or beating; to suffer punishment. [Colloq.] -- To catch one's eye, to interrupt captiously while speaking. [Colloq.] "You catch me up so very short." Dickens. -- To catch up, to snatch; to take up suddenly.

Catch (?), v. i. 1. To attain possession. [Obs.]

Have is have, however men do catch. Shak.

2. To be held or impeded by entanglement or a light obstruction; as, a kite catches in a tree; a door catches so as not to open.

3. To take hold; as, the bolt does not catch.

4. To spread by, or as by, infecting; to communicate.

Does the sedition catch from man to man? Addison.

To catch at, to attempt to seize; to be eager to get or use. "[To] catch at all opportunities of subverting the state." Addison. -- To catch up with, to come up with; to overtake.

Catch, n. 1. Act of seizing; a grasp. Sir P. Sidney.

2. That by which anything is caught or temporarily fastened; as, the catch of a gate.

3. The posture of seizing; a state of preparation to lay hold of, or of watching he opportunity to seize; as, to lie on the catch. [Archaic] Addison.

The common and the canon law . . . lie at catch, and wait advantages one againt another. T. Fuller.

4. That which is caught or taken; profit; gain; especially, the whole quantity caught or taken at one time; as, a good catch of fish.

Hector shall have a great catch if he knock out either of your brains. Shak.

5. Something desirable to be caught, esp. a husband or wife in matrimony. [Colloq.] Marryat.

6. pl. Passing opportunities seized; snatches.

It has been writ by catches with many intervals. Locke.

7. A slight remembrance; a trace.

We retain a catch of those pretty stories. Glanvill.

8. (Mus.) A humorous canon or round, so contrived that the singers catch up each other's words.

Catch"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being caught. [R.]

Catch"-ba`sin (?), n. A cistern or vault at the point where a street gutter discharges into a sewer, to catch bulky matters which would not pass readily through the sewer. Knight.

Catch"drain` (?), n. A ditch or drain along the side of a hill to catch the surface water; also, a ditch at the side of a canal to catch the surplus water.

Catch"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, catches.

2. (Baseball) The player who stands behind the batsman to catch the ball.

Catch"fly (?), n. (Bot.) A plant with the joints of the stem, and sometimes other parts, covered with a viscid secretion to which small insects adhere. The species of Silene are examples of the catchfly.

Catch"ing a. 1. Infectious; contagious.

2. Captivating; alluring.

Catch"ing, n. The act of seizing or taking hold of.

Catching bargain (Law), a bargain made with an heir expectant for the purchase of his expectancy at an inadequate price. Bouvier.

Catch"-mead`ow (?), n. A meadow irrigated by water from a spring or rivulet on the side of hill.

Catch"ment (?), n. A surface of ground on which water may be caught and collected into a reservoir.

Catch"pen*ny (?), a. Made or contrived for getting small sums of money from the ignorant or unwary; as, a catchpenny book; a catchpenny show. -- n. Some worthless catchpenny thing.

Catch"poll` (?), n. [OF. chacepol, chacipol.] A bailiff's assistant.

{ Catch"up (?), Cat"sup (?) }, n. [Probably of East Indian origin, because it was originally a kind of East Indian pickles.] A table sauce made from mushrooms, tomatoes, walnuts, etc. [Written also ketchup.]

Catch"wa`ter (?), n. A ditch or drain for catching water. See Catchdrain.

Catch"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) See Cleavers.

Catch"weight` (?), adv. (Horseracing) Without any additional weight; without being handicapped; as, to ride catchweight.

Catch"word` (?), n. 1. Among theatrical performers, the last word of the preceding speaker, which reminds one that he is to speak next; cue.

2. (Print.) The first word of any page of a book after the first, inserted at the right hand bottom corner of the preceding page for the assistance of the reader. It is seldom used in modern printing.

3. A word or phrase caught up and repeated for effect; as, the catchword of a political party, etc.

Catch"work` (?), n. A work or artificial water-course for throwing water on lands that lie on the slopes of hills; a catchdrain.

Cate (?), n. Food. [Obs.] See Cates.

{ Cat`e*chet"ic (?), Cat`e*chet"ic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?;. See Catechise.] Relating to or consisting in, asking questions and receiving answers, according to the ancient manner of teaching.

Socrates introduced a catechetical method of arguing. Addison.

Cat`e*chet"ic*al*ly, adv. In a catechetical manner; by question and answer.

Cat`e*chet"ics (?), n. The science or practice of instructing by questions and answers.

Cat"e*chin (?), n. (Chem.) One of the tannic acids, extracted from catechu as a white, crystalline substance; -- called also catechuic acid, and catechuin.

Cat`e*chi*sa"tion (?), n. [LL. catechizatio.] The act of catechising.

Cat"e*chise (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Catechised (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Catechising.] [L. catechizare, Gr. &?;, equiv. to &?; to resound, sound a thing into one's ears, impress it upon one by word of mouth; &?; + &?; to sound, &?; a sound.]

1. To instruct by asking questions, receiving answers, and offering explanations and corrections, -- esp. in regard to points of religious faith.

2. To question or interrogate; to examine or try by questions; -- sometimes with a view to reproof, by eliciting from a person answers which condemn his own conduct. Swift.

Cat"e*chi`ser (kăt"&esl;*kī`z&etilde;r), n. One who catechises.

Cat"e*chism (-k&ibreve;z'm), n. [L. catechismus, fr. Gr. See Catechise.] 1. A form of instruction by means of questions and answers.

2. A book containing a summary of principles, especially of religious doctrine, reduced to the form of questions and answers.

The Jews, even till this day, have their catechisms. Hooker.

The Larger Catechism, The Shorter Catechism. See Westminster Assembly, under Assembly.

Cat`e*chis"mal (?), a. Of or pertaining to a catechism, having the form of questions and answers; catechetical.

Cat"e*chist (kăt"&esl;*k&ibreve;st), n. [L. catechista, fr. Gr.] One who instructs by question and answer, especially in religions matters.

{ Cat`e*chis"tic (-k&ibreve;s"t&ibreve;k), Cat`e*chis"tic*al (?), } a. Of or pertaining to a catechist or to a catechism. Dr. H. More.

Cat"e*chize, v. t. See Catechise.

Cat"e*chu (?), n. [See Cashoo.] (Chem.) A dry, brown, astringent extract, obtained by decoction and evaporation from the Acacia catechu, and several other plants growing in India. It contains a large portion of tannin or tannic acid, and is used in medicine and in the arts. It is also known by the names terra japonica, cutch, gambier, etc. Ure. Dunglison.

Cat`e*chu"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to catechu or its derivatives. See catechin.

Cat"e*chu`men (?), n. [L. catechunenus, Gr. &?; instructed, from &?;. See Catechise.] (Eccl.) One who is receiving rudimentary instruction in the doctrines of Christianity; a neophyte; in the primitive church, one officially recognized as a Christian, and admitted to instruction preliminary to admission to full membership in the church.

Cat`e*chu"men*ate (?), n. The state or condition of a catechumen or the time during which one is a catechumen.

Cat`e*chu*men"i*cal (?), a. Of or pertaining to catechumens; as, catechumenical instructions.

Cat`e*chu"men*ist, n. A catechumen. Bp. Morton.

Cat`e*gor`e*mat"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; predicate. See Category.] (Logic.) Capable of being employed by itself as a term; -- said of a word.

Cat`e*gor"ic*al (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to a category.

2. Not hypothetical or relative; admitting no conditions or exceptions; declarative; absolute; positive; express; as, a categorical proposition, or answer.

The scriptures by a multitude of categorical and intelligible decisions . . . distinguish between the things seen and temporal and those that are unseen and eternal. I. Taylor.

Cat`e*gor"ic*al*ly, adv. Absolutely; directly; expressly; positively; as, to affirm categorically.

Cat`e*gor"ic*al*ness, n. The quality of being categorical, positive, or absolute. A. Marvell.

Cat"e*go*rist (?), n. One who inserts in a category or list; one who classifies. Emerson.

Cat"e*go*rize (?), v. t. To insert in a category or list; to class; to catalogue.

Cat"e*go*ry (?), n.; pl. Categories (#). [L. categoria, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to accuse, affirm, predicate; &?; down, against + &?; to harrangue, assert, fr. &?; assembly.] 1. (Logic.) One of the highest classes to which the objects of knowledge or thought can be reduced, and by which they can be arranged in a system; an ultimate or undecomposable conception; a predicament.

The categories or predicaments -- the former a Greek word, the latter its literal translation in the Latin language -- were intended by Aristotle and his followers as an enumeration of all things capable of being named; an enumeration by the summa genera i.e., the most extensive classes into which things could be distributed. J. S. Mill.

2. Class; also, state, condition, or predicament; as, we are both in the same category.

There is in modern literature a whole class of writers standing within the same category. De Quincey.

Cat"el (?), n. [See Chattel.] Property; -- often used by Chaucer in contrast with rent, or income.

"For loss of catel may recovered be, But loss of tyme shendeth us," quod he. Chaucer.

Cat`e*lec"trode (?), n. [Pref. cata + elecrode.] (Physics) The negative electrode or pole of a voltaic battery. Faraday.

Cat`e*lec`tro*ton"ic (?), a. (Physics) Relating to, or characterized by, catelectrotonus.

||Cat`e*lec*trot"o*nus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; down + &?; (see Electro-) + &?; tone.] (Physics) The condition of increased irritability of a nerve in the region of the cathode or negative electrode, on the passage of a current of electricity through it.

||Ca*te"na (?), n.; pl. Catene (#). [L., a chain.] A chain or series of things connected with each other.

I have . . . in no case sought to construct those catenŠ of games, which it seems now the fashion of commentators to link together. C. J. Ellicott.

{ Cat"e*na*ry (?), Cat`e*na"ri*an (?), } a. [L. catenarius, fr. catena a chain. See Chain.] Relating to a chain; like a chain; as, a catenary curve.

Cat"e*na*ry, n.; pl. Catenaries (&?;). (Geol.) The curve formed by a rope or chain of uniform density and perfect flexibility, hanging freely between two points of suspension, not in the same vertical line.

Cat"e*nate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Catenated; p. pr. & vb. n. Catenating.] [L. catenatus, p. p. of catenare, fr. catena chain. See Chain.] To connect, in a series of links or ties; to chain. E. Darwin.