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Webster 1913 Edition


Catty

Cat′ty

,
Noun.
[Malay
katī
. See
Caddy
.]
An East Indian Weight of 1⅓ pounds.

Definition 2024


Catty

Catty

See also: catty

English

Proper noun

Catty

  1. (US, colloquial) The borough of Catasauqua in Pennsylvania.

catty

catty

See also: Catty

English

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈkæti/, [ˈkʰæɾi]
  • Rhymes: -æti
  • Homophones: caddie, caddy (in some dialects)

Adjective

catty (comparative cattier, superlative cattiest)

  1. (informal, of a person or remark) With subtle hostility in an effort to hurt, annoy, or upset, particularly among women.
  2. (informal) Resembling or characteristic of a cat.
    a catty smell
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Related terms
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Etymology 2

From Malay kati, from Sinitic languages, Mandarin: (jīn)

Noun

catty (plural catties)

  1. A (unit of) weight used in China, generally standardized as half a kilogram.
    • 2009, Huaiyin Li, Village China Under Socialism and Reform: A Micro-History, 1948-2008, Stanford University Press, ISBN 978-0-8047-5974-8, page 94:
      To limit team members' consumption, it issued food stamps to the villagers and allowed everyone to eat one catty of rice a day.
    • 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 (publisher), page 124:
      Transparent yellow pieces are the best; the price is from eight to fourteen dollars per catty, according to size and quality.
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