Search the Dictionary

A small chest or box, esp. of rich material or ornamental character, as for jewels, etc. The little casket bring me hither. Shak.

A small war club, esp. of savages; -- so called because of its supposed use in crushing the skull.

A small round dish with a handle, usually of porcelain.

A large bird, of the genus Casuarius, found in the east Indies. It is smaller and stouter than the ostrich. Its head is armed with a kind of helmet of horny substance, consisting of plates overlapping each other, and it has a group of long sharp spines on each wing which are used as defensive organs. It is a shy bird,…

Two small, concave shells of ivory or hard wood, shaped like spoons, fastened to the thumb, and beaten together with the middle finger; -- used by the Spaniards and Moors as an accompaniment to their dance and guitars.

A vial, cruet, or other small vessel, used to contain condiments at the table; as, a set of casters.

A small tower, as on a ship, or an elephant's back.

A small castle. Leland.

See Caster, a small wheel.

e, game played, esp. by children, with a string looped on the fingers so, as to resemble small cradle. The string is transferred from the fingers of one to those of another, at each transfer with a change of form. See Cratch, Cratch cradle. -- To let the cat out of the bag, to tell a secret, carelessly or willfully. […

One of two small holes astern, above the gunroom ports, through which hawsers may be passed.

Having the petals held together by stamens, which grow to their bases, as in the mallow.

A forked stick with elasti band for throwing small stones, etc.

A small sailboat, with a single mast placed as far forward as possible, carring a sail extended by a graff and long boom. See Illustration in Appendix.

of a cat, such as is made in playhouses to express dissatisfaction with a play; also, a small shrill instrument for making such a noise. Upon the rising of the curtain. I was very much surprised with the great consort of catcalls which was exhibited. Addison.

infection, or exposure; as, to catch the spirit of an occasion; to catch the measles or smallpox; to catch cold; the house caught fire.

joints of the stem, and sometimes other parts, covered with a viscid secretion to which small insects adhere. The species of Silene are examples of the catchfly.

Made or contrived for getting small sums of money from the ignorant or unwary; as, a catchpenny book; a catchpenny show. -- n.

An instrument for the accurate measurement of small differences of height; esp. of the differences in the height of the upper surfaces of two columns of mercury or other fluid, or of the same column at different times. It consists of a telescopic leveling apparatus (d), which slides up or down a perpendicular metallic…

Filled with small cavities or cells.