Catch

kach, v.t. to take hold of: to apprehend or understand: to seize after pursuit: to trap or ensnare: to take a disease by infection: to take up anything by sympathy or imitation.— v.i. to be contagious: to be entangled or fastened in anything;— pa.t. and pa.p. caught (kawt).— n. seizure: anything that seizes or holds: that which is caught: anything worth catching: a sudden advantage taken: a specially English form of musical composition, written generally in three or four parts, and in the canon form—originally synonymous with the round .— adj. Catch′able , that may be caught.— ns. Catch′er , one who catches; Catch′fly , a popular name of several plants belonging to the genus Silene , and of Lychnis Viscaria , whose glutinous stems often retain insects settling on them; Catch′ing , the action of the verb 'to catch:' a nervous or spasmodic twitching.— adj. infectious: captivating, attractive.— ns. Catch′ment-bās′in , a term applied to all that part of a river-basin from which rain is collected, and from which, therefore, the river is fed; Catch′penny , any worthle thing, esp. a publication, intended merely to gain money—also adj. ; Catch′word , among actors, the last word of the preceding speaker—the cue: the word at the head of the page in a dictionary or encyclopædia: the first word of a page given at the bottom of the preceding page: any word or phrase taken up and repeated as the watchword or symbol of a party.— adj. Catch′y , attractive, deceptive, readily caught up, as an air, ., fitful.— Catch at , to snatch at; Catch fire , to become ignited, to be inspired by pa ion or zeal; Catch hold of , to seize; Catch it , to get a scolding or the like; Catch me! an emphatic colloquial phrase implying that there is not the remotest po ibility of my doing something suggested; Catch on , to comprehend: to catch the popular fancy; Catch out , to put a batsman out at cricket by catching the ball he has batted; Catch sight of , suddenly to get a glimpse of; Catch up , to overtake; Catch up , or away , to lay hold of forcibly. [From O. Fr. cachier —Late L. captiāre for captāre , inten. of capĕre , to take. See Chase .]