A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

catalpa --- c.1740, from an American Indian language of the Carolinas, perhaps Creek (Muskogean) /katalpa/, lit. "head-wing."

catalyst --- 1902, formed in Eng. (on analogy of analyst) from Gk. kata "down" + -lysis "a loosening" (comb. form); see lose.

catamaran --- 1673, from Tamil kattu-maram "tied wood," from kattu "tie" + maram "wood, tree."

catamite --- 1593, from L. Catamitus, corruption of Ganymedes, the beloved cup-bearer of Jupiter.

catamount --- 1664, shortening of cat-o'-mountain (1616), from cat of the mountain (1432).

catapult --- 1577, from L. catapulta "war machine for throwing," from Gk. katapeltes, from kata "against" + base of pallein "to toss, hurl." The verb is first recorded 1848.

cataract --- 1430, from L. cataracta "waterfall," from Gk. katarhaktes "swooping, rushing down," from kata "down" + arhattein "to strike hard." Its alternate sense in L. of "portcullis" was probably passed through M.Fr. to form the Eng. meaning "eye disease" (1547), on the notion of "obstruction."

catarrh --- 1398, from M.L. catarrus, from L.L. catarrhus, from Gk. katarrhous "a catarrh," lit. "a flowing down," from kata- "down" + rhein "to flow."

catastrophe --- 1540, "reversal of what is expected" (especially a fatal turning point in a drama), from Gk. katastrephein "to overturn," from kata "down" + strephein "turn." Extension to "sudden disaster" is first recorded 1748. Catastrophism as a geological or biological theory is from 1869.

catatonic --- 1908, from Mod.L. catatonia, replacing katatonia (1880s), which was formed directly from Gk. kata- "down" + tonos "tone" (see tenet).

catawampous --- 1840, humorous formation, of unknown origin.

catbird --- 1731, common name for the North American thrush (Dumetella Carolinensis), so called from its warning cry, which resembles that of a cat. Catbird seat is a 19c. Dixieism, popularized by Brooklyn Dodgers baseball announcer Red Barber and by author James Thurber (1942). " 'Sitting in the catbird seat' meant sitting pretty, like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him." [Thurber, "Stories from New Yorker"]

catch (v.) --- c.1205, from Anglo-Fr. cachier "catch, capture" (animals), from V.L. *captiare "try to seize, chase," freq. of L. capere "to take, hold" (see capable). Sense shifted from original meaning of "chase, hunt." Past tense form caught is rare instance of Eng. strong verb with Fr. origin, probably infl. by latch, the cognate native verb, which this word replaced. Noun meaning "that which is caught or worth catching" (especially of spouses) is from 1596. Catchy was a colloquial word in 1831. To catch on "apprehend" is 1884, Amer.Eng. colloquial. To catch (someone's) eye is first attested 1813, in Jane Austen. Catchword (1730) was originally the first word of the following page inserted at the right-hand lower corner of each page of a book; extended to "word caught up and repeated" (especially in the political sense) by 1795. Catch as catch can first attested 1393.

Catch-22 --- from the title of Joseph Heller's 1961 novel. In widespread use only after release of movie based on the book in 1970. The "catch" is that a bomber pilot is insane if he flies combat missions without asking to be relieved from duty, and is thus eligible to be relieved from duty. But if he asks to be relieved from duty, that means he's sane and has to keep flying. Catch in this sense of "hidden cost, qualification, etc." is slang first recorded 1885. There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle. "That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed. "It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.

catchpoll --- O.E. *kæcepol, O.N.Fr. cachepol (O.Fr. chacepol), from M.L. cacepollus "a tax gatherer," lit. "chase-fowl."

catechize --- c.1449, from L. catechizare, from Gk. katechizein "teach orally, instruct by word of mouth," from kata "thoroughly" + echein "to sound." Catechism "book of questions and answers about religion" is first attested 1509. Catechumen "new convert" is 15c.

category --- 1588, from M.Fr. catégorie, from L.L. categoria, from Gk. kategorein "to accuse, assert, predicate," from kata "down to," + agoreuein "to declaim (in the assembly)," from agora "public assembly." Original sense of "accuse" weakened to "assert, name" by the time Aristotle applied kategoria to his 10 classes of things that can be named. Categorical imperative, from the philosophy of Kant, first recorded 1827.

catenary --- 1788, from L. catenanus, from catena "chain."

cater (v.) --- 1600, from M.E. catour (n.) "buyer of provisions" (c.1400), aphetic for Anglo-Fr. achatour, from O.Fr. achater "to buy," orig. "to buy provisions," from V.L. *accaptare, from L. ad- "to" + captare "to take, hold," freq. of capere "to take" (see capable). Caterer is attested from 1592.

caterpillar --- c.1440, catyrpel, probably altered (by association with M.E. piller "plunderer") from Norm.-Fr. caterpilose, from O.Fr. chatepelose, lit. "hairy cat" (probably in ref. to the "wooly-bear" variety), from L.L. catta "cat" + pilosus "hair." A Swiss Ger. name for it is teufelskatz "devil's cat." Caterpillar tractor is from 1908.

caterwaul --- c.1386, caterwrawet, perhaps from M.Du. cater "tomcat" + waul "to yowl," apparently from O.E. *wrag, *wrah "angry," of uncertain origin.

catgut --- 1599, from kitgut from obsolete kit "fiddle." It was actually made from the intestines of sheep.

Cathar --- 1574 (implied in Catharism), from M.L. Cathari "the Pure," name taken by Novatians and other Christian sects, from N.T. Gk. katharezein "to make clean," from Gk. katheros "pure."

catharsis --- 1803, from Gk. katharsis "purging, cleansing," from kathairein "to purify, purge," from katharsos "pure." Originally medical; of emotions from 1872; psychotherapy sense first recorded 1909, in Brill's translation of Freud. Cathartic is 1612, from L. catharticus.

Cathay --- 1565, poetic name for "China," from M.L. Cataya, from Turk. Khitay, from Uighur Khitai, name of a Tatar dynasty that ruled Beijing 936-1122.

cathedral (n.) --- 1587, "church of a bishop," from phrase cathedral church (1297), translating L.L. ecclesia cathedralis "church of a bishop's seat," from Gk. kathedra "seat, bench," from kata "down" + hedra "seat, base, chair, face of a geometric solid," from PIE base *sed- "to sit" (see sedentary).

Catherine --- fem. proper name, from M.L. Katerina, from Gk. Aikaterina. The -h- was introduced 16c., a folk etymology from Gk. katheros "pure." The initial Gk. vowel is preserved in Rus. form Ekaterina. As the name of a type of pear, attested from 1641. Catherine wheel (c.1225) is named for St. Catherine of Alexandria, legendary virgin martyr from the time of Maximinus. Her name day is Nov. 25. A popular saint in the Middle Ages, which accounts for the popularity of the given name.

catheter --- 1601, from Fr. cathéter, from L.L. catheter "a catheter," from Gk. kathienai "to let down, thrust in," from kata "down" + stem of hienai "to send."

cathode --- 1834, from Gk. cathodos "a way down," from kata- "down" + hodos "way" (see cede). Cathode ray first attested 1880, but the phenomenon known from 1859; cathode ray tube is from 1905.

catholic --- c.1350, "of the doctrines of the ancient Church," lit. "universally accepted," from L.L. catholicus "universal, general," from Gk. katholikos, from phrase kath' holou, from kata "about" + gen. of holos "whole" (see safe (adj.)). Applied to the Church in Rome c.1554, after the Reformation.

Catiline --- from Lucius Sergius Catilina, Roman official who plotted an uprising 63 B.C.E. and was exposed by Cicero in a famous oration, taken since 1592 as a type of a reckless conspirator.

catnip --- 1712, Amer.Eng., from cat + nip, from O.E. nepte, from L. nepta, an aromatic herb. The older name is M.E. catmint (c.1265).

catoblepas --- 1398, from L., from Gk. katobleps, from kato "downward" + blepein "to look." Name given by ancient authors to some African animal. "A wylde beest that hyghte Catoblefas and hath a lytyll body and nyce in all membres and a grete heed hangynge alway to-warde the erth." [John of Trevisa, transl. of Bartholomew de Glanville's "De proprietatibus rerum," 1398]

catoptromancy --- divination by means of a mirror, 1613, from Gk. katoptron "mirror."

cattle --- c.1250, from Anglo-Fr. catel "property," from M.L. capitale "property, stock," neut. of L. capitalis "principal, chief," from caput "head" (see head). Orig. sense was of moveable property, especially livestock; not limited to "cows" until 1555.

catty-cornered --- 1838, from now-obsolete cater "to set or move diagonally" (1577), from M.Fr. catre "four," from L. quattuor (see four).

Caucasian --- 1807, from Caucasus Mountains, between the Black and Caspian seas; applied to the "white" race 1795 (in Ger.) by Ger. anthropologist Johann Blumenbach, because their supposed ancestral homeland lay there; since abandoned as a historical/anthropological term. Lit. meaning "resident or native of the Caucasus" is from 1843. The mountain range name is from Gk. kaukhasis, said by Pliny ("Natural History," book six, chap. XVII) to be from a Scythian word similar to kroy-khasis, lit. "(the mountain) ice-shining, white with snow." But possibly from a Pelasgian root *kau- meaning "mountain."

caucus --- 1763, Amer.Eng., perhaps from caucauasu "counselor" in the Algonquian dialect of Virginia, or the Caucus Club of Boston, a 1760s social & political club whose name possibly derived from Mod.Gr. kaukos "drinking cup." Another candidate is caulker's (meeting). The verb is from 1850.

cauliflower --- 1597, originally cole florye, from It. cavoli fiori "flowered cabbage," pl. of cavolo "cabbage" + fiore "flower" (from L. flora, q.v.). First element from L. caulis "cabbage," borrowed into Gmc. and source of cole in Du. "cole slaw" and of Scot. kale. The front end of the word was re-Latinized. The boxer's cauliflower ear is from 1907.

caulk --- c.1378, from O.N.Fr. cauquer, from L.L. calicare "to stop up chinks with lime," from L. calx "lime, limestone." Original sense is nautical, of making ships watertight.

cause (n.) --- c.1225, from L. causa "a cause, reason, judicial process, lawsuit," of unknown origin. Cause célèbre "celebrated legal case" is 1763, from Fr.

causeway --- 1571, from M.E. cauceweye, first element from Anglo-Norm. cauce, from V.L. *calciata via "paved way," from L. calcis, gen. of calx "limestone," or L.L. calciare "to stamp with the heels, tread" (on notion of a road or mound across marshy ground made firm by treading down).

caustic --- 1555, from O.Fr. caustique, from L. causticus, from Gk. kaustikos "capable of burning," from kaustos "combustible," from kaiein, the Gk. word for "to burn" in all periods, of uncertain origin with no known cognates outside Gk. Figurative sense of "sarcastic" is attested from 1771.

cauterize --- 1541, from M.Fr. cauteriser, from L.L. cauterizare "to burn or brand with a hot iron," from Gk. kauteriazein, from kauter "burning or branding iron," from kaiein "to burn."

caution (n.) --- 1297, "bail, guarantee, pledge," from O.Fr., "security, surety," from L. cautionem (nom. cautio), from cautus pp. of cavere "to be on one's guard" (see caveat). The Latin sense re-emerged in Eng. 16c.-17c. The verb sense of "to warn" is from 1641; cautious is from 1640.

cavalcade --- 1591, via M.Fr., from It. cavalcata, from cavalcare "to ride on horseback," from V.L. *caballicare, from L. caballus (see cavalier). Literally, "a procession on horseback," in 20c. -cade came to be regarded as a suffix and taken to form motorcade (1913), etc.

cavalier --- 1589, from It. cavalliere "mounted soldier, knight," from L.L. caballarius "horseman," from L. caballus "horse, a pack horse." Sense advanced in 17c. to "knight," then "courtly gentleman," which led to adj. "disdainful" (1657). Meaning "Royalist adherent of Charles I" is from 1641.

cavalry --- 1546, from M.Fr. cavalerie, from It. cavalleria "mounted militia," from cavaliere (see cavalier).

cave (n.) --- c.1220, from O.Fr. cave "a cave," from L. cavea "hollow" (place), neut. plural of adj. cavus "hollow," from PIE base *keu- "a swelling, arch, cavity." Replaced O.E. eorðscrafu. First record of cave man is 1865.

cave (v.) --- 1707, Amer.Eng., presumably from E.Anglian dial. calve "collapse, fall in," perhaps from Flem., infl. by cave (n.). Figurative sense of "yield to pressure" is from 1837.

caveat --- 1549, from L. "let him beware," 3rd pers. sing. pres. subjunctive of cavere "to beware, take heed, watch, guard against," from PIE base *skeue- "to pay attention, perceive" (cf. Skt. kavih "wise, sage, seer, poet;" Lith. kavoti "tend, safeguard;" Arm. cucanem "I show;" L. cautio "wariness;" Gk. koein "to mark, perceive, hear," kydos "glory, fame," lit. "that which is heard of;" O.C.S. chujo "to feel, perceive, hear," cudo "wonder," lit. "that which is heard of;" Czech (z)koumati "to perceive, be aware of;" Serbian chuvati "watch, heed;" O.E. sceawian "to look at;" M.Du. schoon "beautiful, bright," prop. "showy;" Goth. hausjan "hear"). Phrase caveat emptor "let the buyer beware," was in Eng. 1523.

cavern --- c.1374, from O.Fr. caverne, from L.L. caverna "cave," from L. cavus (see cave).

caviar --- c.1560, from Fr. caviar, from It. or Turk., from Pers. khaviyar, from khaya "egg" (from M.Pers. khayak "egg," from Old Iranian *qvyaka-, dim. of *avya-, from PIE *owyo-/*oyyo- "egg") + dar "bearing."

cavil --- 1548, from M.Fr. caviller "to mock, jest," from L. cavillari "to satirize, argue scoffingly," from cavilla "jeering," related to calumnia (see calumny).

cavity --- 1541, from M.Fr. cavité, from L.L. cavitas "hollowness," from L. cavus "hollow" (see cave).

cavort --- 1793, cauvaut, Amer.Eng., probably from ca- colloquial intens. prefix + vault "jump, leap."

caw --- make a sound like a crow, raven, etc., 1589, imitative.

cay --- low island, 1707, see key (2).

cayenne --- 1756, from Tupi (Brazil) kyynha, mistakenly associated with town of Cayenne in Fr. Guyana. The town name is the Fr. form of Guyana.

CB --- abbreviation of citizens' band (radio), 1959.

CD --- As an abbreviatiom for "compact disk," as a system of information storage, attested from 1979. CD-ROM in computer jargon is recorded from 1983.

cease --- c.1300, from O.Fr. cesser, from L. cessare "to cease, go slow," frequentative of cedere "go away, withdraw, yield" (see cede). Replaced O.E. geswican, and blinnan. Cease-fire "armistice" is from 1918.

Cecil --- proper name, and fem. Cecilia, from L. Cæcilius, fem. Cæcilia, name of a Roman gens, from cæcus "blind."

cedar --- O.E. ceder, blended with L. cedrus, from Gk. kedros "cedar, juniper," origin uncertain.

cede --- 1633, from L. cedere "to yield," originally "to go, leave," from PIE base *ked- "to go, yield" (cf. Skt. a-sad- "to go, approach;" Avestan apa-had- "turn aside, step aside;" Gk. hodos "way," hodites "wanderer, wayfarer;" O.C.S. chodu "a walking, going," choditi "to go").

cedilla --- 1599, from Sp. cedilla, from a Latin-like dim. of zeta "the letter 'z'." The mark (formerly used in Sp., too) was derived from that letter and indicates a "soft" sound in letters in positions that are normally "hard."

Cedric --- masc. proper name, modern, apparently introduced by Sir Walter Scott (Cedric the Saxon is a character in "Ivanhoe"); apparently a mistake for O.E. name Cerdic.

ceilidh --- 1875, from Ir. ceilidhe, from O.Ir. ceile "companion."

ceiling --- c.1348, celynge, "paneling, any interior surface of a building," noun formed (with -ing) from M.E. borrowing of M.Fr. verb celer "to conceal, cover with paneling" from L. celare (see cell); probably influenced by L. cælum "heaven, sky" (see celestial). Colloquial phrase hit the ceiling "lose one's temper" is 1914.

celadon --- pale grayish-green, 1768, from Fr. Céladon, name of a character in the romance of "l'Astrée" by Honoré d'Urfé (1610), a sentimental lover who wore bright green clothes, after Gk. Keladon, a character in Ovid's "Metamorphoses."

celebrate --- 1465, from L. celebratus pp. of celebrare "to frequent in great numbers, assemble to honor," from celeber "frequented, populous." Celebrated "much-talked-about" is from 1665.

celebrity --- c.1380, "solemn rite or ceremony," from O.Fr. celebrité, from L. celibritatem (nom. celebritas) "multitude, fame," from celeber "frequented, populous." Meaning "condition of being famous" is from 1600; that of "famous person" is from 1849.

celerity --- 1483, from M.Fr. célérité, from L. celeritatem (nom. celeritas), from celer "swift," from PIE base *kel- "to drive, set in swift motion" (cf. Skt. carati "goes," Gk. keles "fast horse or ship," keleuthos "journey, road," Lith. sulys "a gallop," O.H.G. scelo "stallion").

celery --- 1664, from Fr. céleri, from It. (Lombard dialect) seleri (pl.), from L.L. selinon, from Gk. selinon "parsley."

celestial --- c.1384, from L. cælestis "heavenly," from cælum "heaven, sky," of uncertain origin; perhaps from PIE *kaid-slo-, from a root meaning "bright." The L. word is the source of the usual word for "sky" in most of the Romance languages, e.g. Fr. ciel, Sp. cielo, It. cielo.

celibacy --- 1663, formed in Eng. from L. cælibatus "state of being unmarried," from cælebs "unmarried," from PIE base *kaiwelo- "alone" + lib(h)s- "living." Celibate first recorded 1829.

cell --- c.1131, "small room," from L. cella "small room, hut," related to L. celare "to hide, conceal," from PIE base *kel- "conceal" (cf. Skt. cala "hut, house, hall;" Gk. kalia "hut, nest," kalyptein "to cover," koleon "sheath," kelyphos "shell, husk;" L. cella "store room," clam "secret;" O.Ir. cuile "cellar," celim "hide," M.Ir. cul "defense, shelter;" Goth. hulistr "covering," O.E. heolstor "lurking-hole, cave, covering," Goth. huljan "cover over," hulundi "hole," hilms "helmet," halja "hell," O.E. hol "cave," holu "husk, pod"). Earliest sense is for monastic rooms, then prison rooms (1722). Used in biology 17c., but not in modern sense until 1845. Meaning "small group of people working within a larger organization" is from 1925. Cellphone is from 1984.

cellar --- c.1225, from O.Fr. celer, from L. cellarium "pantry, storeroom," lit. "group of cells," from L. cella (see cell).

cello --- 1876, shortening of violoncello (q.v.).

cellophane --- 1912 trademark name for product made from regenerated cellulose, coined by the inventor, Swiss chemist Jacques E. Brandenberger (1872-1954), probably from cell(ulose) + o + phane, from Gk. phainein "to appear."

cellular --- 1753, with reference to cellular tissue, from Mod.L. cellularis, from cellula "little cell," dim. of cella (see cell). Of mobile phone systems (in which the area served is divided into "cells" of a few square miles served by transmitters), 1977.

cellulite --- 1968, from Fr. cellulite, from L. cellula "little cell," dim. of cella (see cell).

celluloid --- 1871, trademark name (reg. U.S.), coined by U.S. inventor John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1900) from L. cellula dim. of cella (see cell) + -oid, from Gk. -o-eides "a form, shape" (comb. form). Abbreviated form cell "sheet of celluloid" is from 1933.

cellulose --- 1835, coined by Fr. chemist Anselme Payen (1795-1871) from noun use of adj. cellulose "consisting of cells," coined 18c. from L. cellula (see celluloid) + -ose Fr. suffix forming nouns.

Celsius --- 1850, for Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701-1744) inventor of the centigrade scale.

Celt --- 1607, from L. Celta, singular of Celtæ, from Gk. Keltoi, Herodotus' word for the Gauls (who were also called Galatai). Used by the Romans of continental Gauls but apparently not of the British Celtic tribes. Celtic twilight is from Yeats's name for his collection of adapted Irish folk tales (1893).

celt --- 1715, from L. ghost word (apparently a misprint of certe) in Job xix:24 in Vulgate: "stylo ferreo, et plumbi lamina, vel celte sculpantur in silice;" translated, probably correctly, in KJV as, "That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever." But assumed to be a genuine carving tool, since it was in the Bible, and adapted by archaeologists for a class of prehistoric implements.

cement --- c.1300, from O.Fr. ciment, from L. cæmenta "stone chips used for making mortar," from cædere "to cut down, chop, beat, hew, fell, slay" from PIE base *(s)k(h)a- "to strike" (cf. Skt. skhidati "beats, tears," Lith. kaisti "shave," Ger. heien "beat"). The sense evolution from "small broken stones" to "powdered stones used in construction" took place before the word reached Eng. The verb is from 1340.

cemetery --- 1387, from O.Fr. cimetiere "graveyard," from L.L. coemeterium, from Gk. koimeterion "sleeping place, dormitory," from koiman "to put to sleep," keimai "I lie down," from PIE base *kei- "to lie, rest" (cf. Goth haims "village," O.E. ham "home, house, dwelling"). Early Christian writers were the first to use it for "burial ground."

cenobite --- member of a communal religious order, 1638, from Church L. coenobita "a cloister brother," from coenobium "a convent," from Gk. koinobion "life in community, monastery," from koinos "common" + bios "life" (see bio-).

cenotaph --- 1603, from Fr. cénotaphe (16c.), from L. cenotaphium, from Gk. kenotaphion, from kenos "empty" + taphos "tomb."

censer --- vessel used for burning incense, c.1250, from O.Fr. censier, from encensier, from encens "incense" (see incense (n.)).

censor (n.) --- 1531, Roman magistrate who took censuses and oversaw public morals, from L. censere "to appraise, value, judge," from PIE base *kens- "speak solemnly, announce." Transferred sense of "officious judge of morals and conduct" is from 1592; of books, plays, later films, etc., 1644. The verb is from 1882.

censure --- c.1378, from L. censura "judgment" (see censor). The verb is first attested 1589.

census --- 1613, from L. census, originally pp. of censere "to assess" (see censor).

cent --- c.1400, from L. centum "hundred" (see hundred). M.E. meaning was "one hundred," but shifted to "hundredth part" under infl. of percent. Chosen in this sense in 1786 as name for U.S. currency unit by Continental Congress. The name was first suggested by Robert Morris in 1782 under a different currency plan. Before the cent, colonial dollars were reckoned in ninetieths, based on the exchange rate of Pennsylvania money and Spanish coin.

centaur --- c.1375, from L. centaurus, from Gk. Kentauros, origin disputed. In early Gk. literature they were a savage, horse-riding tribe from Thessaly.

centaury --- small plant with red flowers (now usually erythraea Centaureum), c.1386, from M.L. centaurea, from L. centaureum, from Gk. kentaureion, from kentauros "centaur" (see centaur), so called because the plant's medicinal properties were discovered by Chiron the centaur. Ger. Tausendgüldenkraut is based on a mistranslation of the L. word, as if from centum + aurum.

centenary --- 1607, from L. centenarius "of hundred," from centenai "a hundred each," from centum "hundred" (see hundred). Centenarian "person who is 100" is from 1846.

centennial --- c.1797, formed in Eng. from L. cent(um) "hundred" + Eng. (bi)ennial. Originally an adj., first used as a noun in 1876.

center --- c.1374, from O.Fr. centre, from L. centrum "center," orig. fixed point of the two points of a compass, from Gk. kentron "sharp point, goad," from kentein "stitch," from PIE base *kent- "to prick" (cf. Breton kentr "a spur," O.H.G. hantag "sharp, pointed"). The verb is from 1622. Spelling with -re popularized in Britain by Johnson's dictionary, though -er is older. Centrist is 1872, from Fr. politics. Central as U.S. colloquial for "central telephone exchange" is first recorded 1889.