cat castle (katkasl)

In the military engineering of the middle ages, a kind of movable tower to cover the sappers as they advanced to a besieged place. Farrow, Mil. Encyc. catch1 (kach), v.; pret. and pp. caught (obsolete or vulgar catched ), ppr. catching. [ME. catchen, cachen, cacchen, kachen, kacchen (also kecchen, > E. dial. ketch ) (pret. caught, cought, caughte, cauzte, cahte, cazte, kagte, etc., rarely cached, katched, pp. caught, caght, kauht, caht, cazt, etc., rarely cached, cachet ) = D. kaatsen = MLG. katzen, play at tennis, E. chasel, q. v.) = Pr. ca ar = OSp. cabzar, Sp. cazar = Pg. caçar = It. cacci are, chase, hunt, Ase thet hote weter [hot water] cacheth thane hond [hound] out of the kechene [kitchen]. Ancren Riwle , p. 171. Likes nan of thaim my play Bot alle thar kache [var. cha e ] me away. Eng . Metrical Homilies (ed. J. Small), p. 151. As thow seest in the sauter in psalme one or tweyne, How contricioun is commended; for it caccheth awey synne. Piers Plowman (B), xii. 178. Nowe kyngis, to cache all care away Sen ze 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. Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2195. 3t. To reach; arrive at. The comely coste of Norman dye they cachene fulle evene, And blythely at Barflete the is bolde are arryfede, And fyndys a flete there of frendez ynewe. Morte Arthure (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 cauzt the quen of hire palfray. William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4302. The mild hind Makes speed to catch the tiger. IMG:content-3271.png:[graphic][merged small] 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. Specifically-6. To intercept and seize (something approaching or pa ing, especially in the air): as, to catch a ball.-7. To take captive, as in a snare or trap; take with a lure or bait; insnare; entrap: as, to catch mice or birds; to catch fish: often used figuratively in this sense. Vn-to my disci pill is will I go agayne, Kyndely to comforte tham That kacchid are in care. York Plays , p. 243. They send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. Mark xii. 13. I did eat a dish of mackarel, newly catched , for my breakfast. Pepys, Diary, I. 77. This North American species [ Drosera filiform is ] catches, according to Mrs. Treat, an extraordinary num- ber of small and large insects. Darwin , Insectiv. Plants, p. 281. 8. To seize after pursuit or search; apprehend; arrest: as, to catch a thief or a runaway horse. This year, I hope, my friends, I shall 'scape prison, For all your cares to catch me. Thanne seiz the i no socour but sunder thanne the i moste; With clipping & ke ing the i kauzt here leue . William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1053. To catch one a blow, to inflict a blow on one. [Colloq.] - To catch one on the hip, to get the advantage of one; get one under one's power. See hip1 . To catch out, in base - ball , cricket , and similar games, to put (the striker) out by catching a batted ball before it has touched the ground. See base - ball , To catch up. (a) To take up suddenly; snatch up. I caught up a little garden-girl,... put a napkin in her hand, and made her my butler. Lady Holland , Sydney Smith, I. vii. (b) To lift or raise to a higher elevation. I knew a man caught up to the third heaven. IMG:content-3272.png:[blocks in formation] mance, that I feel my pen catching in the tatters of a Howells , Venetian Life, xiii. 5. To take proper hold so as to act: as, the bolt does not catch .-6. To be communicable A lisa under of Macedoine (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1087. Cleopatra, catching but the least noise of this, dies in- stantly. Shak., A. and C., i. 2. I caught a glimpse of his face. Saucy lictors Will catch at us, like strumpets. Shak ., A. and C., v. 2. Now, like those that are sinking, they catch round at that which is likeliest to hold them up. Milton , Reformation in Eng., ii. He can receive no pleasure from a casual glimpse of Nature, but must catch at it as an object of instruction. Lamb , Old and New Schoolmaster, We retain a catch of those pretty stories, and our awak. ened imagination smiles in the recollection. Glanville, Scep. Sci. 11. A trick; something by which one may be entrapped. To [too] Kynde, ne to Kepyng, and warre Knavis cacches, Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 9. 12. In music, originally, an unaccompanied round for three or more voices, written as a continuous melody, not in score. Later, a round the words of which were so selected that it was po ible, either by means of the pronunciation or by the interweav. ing of the words and phrases, to give to the different voices or parts ludicrous effects. Grove. The eagerne of a knave maketh him often as catchable as the ignorance of a fool. Lord Halifaz . catch-all (kach'al), n. [ catch1 + obj. all .] 1. Something used as a general receptacle for odds and ends, as a table, bureau, chest, etc.; espe- cially, a basket or bag provided for the purpose. [Colloq.]-2. A tool for recovering broken tools from a boring. catch-bar (kach'bär), n. A bar which depre es the jacks of a knitting-machine. catch-basin (kach'basn), n. 1. A reservoir placed at the point of discharge of a pipe into a sewer, to retain matter which would not pa readily through the sewer. Such basins are arranged so that they can be emptied as often as is nece ary.-2. A reservoir, especially for catching and retaining surface-drainage over large areas. He that cacchith to him an yuel name, It is to him a foule fame. Catch as catch can, in wrestling , to grapple in any or- dinary and legitimate manner. To catch on, to appre hend; understand. [Slang, U. S.] To catch up, to get to the same point (in place or in work); get even or abreast, usually by special effort, as in a race, a journey, study, etc.: absolute, or with with . Fight closer, or, good faith, you'll catch a blow. Shak., 3 Hen. VI., iii. 2. The Church of Carnac by the strand Catches the westering sun's last fires. A man takes mercury, goes out of doors and catches cold. J. S. Mill , Logic, iii. 5. 14. To entangle with or entrap in: as, she caught the fringe of her shawl on the door-knob. -15. To seize upon or attack; fasten upon; be- come communicated to: as, the fire caught the adjoining buildings.-16. To come on sudden- ly, unexpectedly, or accidentally: as, they were caught in the act. We shall catch them at their sport; And our sudden coming there Will double all their mirth and chere. Specifically-2. In base - ball and similar games, the catching and holding of a batted or thrown ball before it touches the ground.-3. Any- thing that seizes or takes hold, that checks mo- tion or the like, as a hook, a ratchet, a pawl, a spring-bolt for a door or lid, or any other con- trivance employed in machinery for the pur- pose of stopping or checking certain move- ments.-4. A choking or stoppage of the breath. 5. The posture of seizing; a state of prepara- tion to catch, or of watching an opportunity to seize. [Archaic.] 6. Anything caught; especially, a prize or booty; something valuable or desirable ob- tained or to be obtained; a gain or an advan- tage; often, colloquially, one desirable as a husband or wife on account of wealth or pos i- tion. Hector shall have a great catch if he knock out either of your brains. Shak., T. and C., ii. 1. She entered freely into the state of her affairs, asked his advice upon money matters, and fully proved to his be a much greater catch than Frau Van der sloosh. satisfaction that, independent of her beauty, she would IMG:content-3273.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-3274.png:[blocks in formation] who stands behind the bat or home-base to catch the ball when pitched. See base -ball. (b) In mining : (1) An ar- range ment to prevent overwinding, or raising the cage too high as it comes out of the shaft. Also, in Leicester- shire, England, the equivalent of cage - shuts (which see). (2) In general, any arrangement at the mouth of the shaft, or on the pump, by means of which accidents may be pre vented in case a part of the machinery gives way. (c) M. In ornith ., the raptorial birds, or birds of prey: a term translating Captantes , one of the names of the order. 3t. One who sings catches. But where be my catchers ? Come, a round, and so let us drink. Brome , Jovial Crew, iv. catcher elt, n. [ME. cacherel (ML. reflex ca charellus ), catchen , catch, + term. -erel, as in cockerel. Cf. catchpoll.] A catchpoll. Wright. catch-feeder (kach'feder), n. A ditch for ir, rigation. catch-fly (kach'fli), n . The popular name of species of plants belonging to the genus Silene, and of Lychnis Viscaria , given on account of their glutinous stems, which sometimes retain small insects. The sleepy catch-fly is Silene antirrhina . catch-hook (kach'huk), п. An iron bar with a hinged tongue, used in hauling large iron pipes. The hinged end is pushed into the bore of the pipe, and the tongue jams and is firmly held against its inner sur face when the bar is pulled. catching (kach'ing), p . a. [Ppr. of catch , v.] 1. Communicating, or liable to be communi- cated, by contagion; infectious. catching 'Tis time to give them physic, their diseases Are grown so catching . Shak., Hen. VIII., i. 3. Your words are a grenadier's march to my heart! I believe courage must be catching ! Sheridan, The Rivals, iii. 4. 2. Captivating; charming; attracting: as, a catching melody; a catching manner. That Rhetorick is best which is most seasonable and most catching. Selden , Table-Talk, p. 95. 3t. Acquisitive; greedy. Thei made be brought Iuellis and alle othir riche e, and yaf it to hym to se whedir he wolde be couetouse and cacchynge. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), i. 106.