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Wiktionary:Word of the day/2024/October 29

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Word of the day
for October 29
cathead n
  1. (nautical)
    1. A heavy piece of timber projecting somewhat horizontally from each side of the bow of a ship on which an anchor is raised or lowered, and secured when not used, from its stock end.
    2. A decorative element at the end of such a timber that often depicts a cat's head.
  2. (technology, chiefly mining) A (small) capstan (“vertical cylindrical machine that revolves on a spindle, used to apply force to cables, ropes, etc.”) or windlass (“type of winch”) forming part of hoisting machinery.
  3. (UK, dialectal) A nodule of ironstone containing fossil remains.
  4. (US) Short for cathead biscuit (“a large fluffy biscuit, typically served with gravy”).

cathead v

  1. (transitive, nautical) Synonym of cat (“to hoist (an anchor) so that it hangs at the cathead (noun sense 1.1)”)

Today is National Cat Day in the USA, which was established on this day in 2005 by the American animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige with the support of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to encourage people to celebrate the companionship provided by cats, and to be aware of the need to rescue and adopt them.

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