catty
See also: Catty
English
editEtymology 1
editFrom cat + -y. Compare Dutch kattig (“catty”); in sense “hostility”, see catfight.
Pronunciation
edit- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkæti/, [ˈkʰæɾi]
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -æti
- Homophones: caddie, caddy (in some dialects)
Adjective
editcatty (comparative cattier, superlative cattiest)
- (informal, of a person or remark) With subtle hostility in an effort to hurt, annoy, or upset, particularly among women.
- (informal) Resembling or characteristic of a cat.
- a catty smell
Synonyms
editDerived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editspiteful
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See also
edit- (hostility, especially between women): handbags, handbags at dawn, the handbags come out, meow
Etymology 2
editFrom Malay kati, from Tamil கட்டி (kaṭṭi).
Alternative forms
editNoun
editcatty (plural catties or cattys)
- A (unit of) weight used in China, generally standardized as half a kilogram.
- 1699, Captain William Dampier, A new voyage round the world, Volume 1:
- 16 Mess, make a Tale, which here is 20 s. English, 5 Tale make a Bancal, a weight so called, and 20 Bancal make a Catty, another weight.
- 1847, Robert Montgomery Martin, China; Political, Commercial, and Social, volume 2, James Madden, page 124:
- Transparent yellow pieces are the best; the price is from eight to fourteen dollars per catty, according to size and quality.
Translations
edita unit of weight in China
Etymology 3
editNoun
editcatty (plural catties)
- (slang) A catapult.
- 2009, Sheldon Arensen, The Carjackers, page 43:
- “Give me your slingshot, and I'll let you have it back after school this afternoon,” she said firmly. […] I stuck the 'catty' into my back pocket and ran outside to meet the others.
- 2017, David Cooper, Christiaan Barnard: The Surgeon Who Dared:
- You could also keep a tennis ball and a frog, or a catapult and a frog, but not all three together. I know because I tried it. The frog got a bit squashed between the ball and the handle of the catty.
See also
editCategories:
- English terms suffixed with -y (adjectival)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/æti
- Rhymes:English/æti/2 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English informal terms
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms derived from Malay
- English terms derived from Tamil
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English slang
- Hong Kong English
- en:Units of measure
- en:Personality