Cat vs Key - What's the difference?
cat | key |
An animal of the family Felidae :
*2011 , Karl Kruszelnicki, Brain Food (ISBN 1466828129), page 53:
*:Mammals need two genes to make the taste receptor for sugar. Studies in various cats (tigers, cheetahs and domestic cats) showed that one of these genes has mutated and no longer works.
#A domesticated subspecies (Felis silvestris catus ) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet.
#*
#*:At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat —in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.
#Any similar animal of the family Felidae, which includes lions, tigers, bobcats, etc.
A catfish.
*1913 , (Willa Cather), :
*:She missed the fish diet of her own country, and twice every summer she sent the boys to the river, twenty miles to the southward, to fish for channel cat .
A person.
#(lb) A spiteful or angry woman.
#An enthusiast or player of jazz.
#*2008 , (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), "Hold on to Yourself":
#*:I turn on the radio / There's some cat on the saxophone / Laying down a litany of excuses
#(lb) A person (usually male).
#(lb) A prostitute.
(lb) A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship.
(Short form of) cat-o'-nine-tails.
*1839 , testimony by , recorded in the Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York (Assembly No. 335), page 44:
*:he used this '''cat''' on one other man, and then destroyed the ' cat wound with wire.
(lb) Any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer )
(lb) A sturdy merchant sailing vessel (now only in "catboat").
The game of "trap and ball" (also called "cat and dog").
#The trap of the game of "trap and ball".
A vagina, a vulva; the female external genitalia.
*1969 , Iceberg Slim, Pimp: The Story of My Life (Holloway House Publishing):
*:"What the hell, so this broad's got a prematurely-gray cat ."
*2005 , Carolyn Chambers Sanders, Sins & Secrets (Hachette Digital):
*:As she came up, she tried to put her cat in his face for some licking.
*2007 , Franklin White, Money for Good (Simon and Schuster), page 64:
*:I had a notion to walk over to her, rip her apron off, sling her housecoat open and put my finger inside her cat to see if she was wet or freshly fucked because the dream I had earlier was beginning to really annoy me.
A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.) with six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.
(nautical) To hoist (the anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead.
(nautical) To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
(slang) To vomit something.
(computing) A program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to an output device.
(computing) To apply the cat command to (one or more files).
To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target) usually with no intention of browsing it carefully.
(Ireland, informal) terrible, disastrous.
An object designed to open and close a lock.
* , chapter=13
, title= An object designed to fit between two other objects (such as a shaft and a wheel) in a mechanism and maintain their relative orientation.
A crucial step or requirement.
* (John Locke) (1632-1705)
* (1809-1892)
A guide explaining the symbols or terminology of a map or chart; a legend.
A guide to the correct answers of a worksheet or test.
(label) One of several small, usually square buttons on a typewriter or computer keyboard, mostly corresponding to text characters.
(label) One of a number of rectangular moving parts on a piano or musical keyboard, each causing a particular sound or note to be produced.
(label) One of various levers on a musical instrument used to select notes, such as a lever opening a hole on a woodwind.
(label) A hierarchical scale of musical notes on which a composition is based.
* 1881 , R.L. Stevenson, :
(label) The general pitch or tone of a sentence or utterance.
* (William Cowper) (1731-1800)
(label) An indehiscent, one-seeded fruit furnished with a wing, such as the fruit of the ash and maple; a samara.
(label) A manual electrical switching device primarily used for the transmission of Morse code.
(label) A piece of information (e.g. a passphrase) used to encode or decode a message or messages.
(label) A password restricting access to an IRC channel.
* 2000 , "Robert Erdec", Re: Help; mIRC32; unable to resolve server arnes.si'' (on newsgroup ''alt.irc.mirc )
(label) In a relational database, a field used as an index into another table (not necessarily unique).
(label) A value that uniquely identifies an entry in an associative array.
(label) The free-throw lane together with the circle surrounding the free-throw line, the free-throw lane having formerly been narrower, giving the area the shape of a skeleton key hole.
(label) A series of logically organized groups of discriminating information which aims to allow the user to correctly identify a taxon.
(label) Kilogram (though this is more commonly shortened to kay ).
* 2010 , David J. Silas, Da Block (page 41)
(label) A piece of wood used as a wedge.
(label) The last board of a floor when laid down.
(label) A keystone.
That part of the plastering which is forced through between the laths and holds the rest in place.
(rail transport) A wooden support for a rail on the bullhead rail system.
(label) The object used to open or close a lock, often used as a heraldic charge.
Indispensable, supremely important.
* 2007 , Mark H. Moss, Shopping as an Entertainment Experience (page 46)
Important, salient.
* {{quote-book, year=2006, author=
, title=Internal Combustion
, chapter=2 * {{quote-news
, year=2011
, date=September 29
, author=Jon Smith
, title=Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers
, work=BBC Sport
To fit (a lock) with a key.
To fit (pieces of a mechanical assembly) with a key to maintain the orientation between them.
To mark or indicate with a symbol indicating membership in a class.
* 1996 January, Garden Dsign Ideas , second printing, (Taunton Press), ISBN 1561580791, page 25,
* 2001 , Bruce M. Metzger, The Bible in Translation , ISBN 0801022827, page 87,
* 2002 , Karen Bromley, Stretching Students' Vocabulary , ISBN 0439288398, page 12,
* 2007 , Stephen Blake Mettee, Michelle Doland and Doris Hall, compilers, The American Directory of Writer's Guidelines , 6th ("2007–2008") edition, ISBN 1884956580, page 757,
(telegraphy and radio telegraphy) To depress (a telegraph key).
(radio) To operate (the transmitter switch of a two-way radio).
(computing) (more usually to key in ) To enter (information) by typing on a keyboard or keypad.
(colloquial) To vandalize (a car, etc.) by scratching with an implement such as a key.
To link (as one might do with a key or legend).
* 1960 , Richard L. Masland, "Classification of the Epilepsies", in Epilepsia , volume 1, page 516,
* '>citation
* '>citation
(intransitive, biology, chiefly, taxonomy) To be identified as a certain taxon when using a key.
To fasten or secure firmly; to fasten or tighten with keys or wedges.
In slang terms the difference between cat and key
is that cat is any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. while key is kilogram (though this is more commonly shortened to kay).In lang=en terms the difference between cat and key
is that cat is a piece of heavy machinery, such as a backhoe, of the Caterpillar brand while key is to operate (the transmitter switch of a two-way radio).In computing terms the difference between cat and key
is that cat is a program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to an output device while key is (more usually to key in) To enter (information) by typing on a keyboard or keypad.As nouns the difference between cat and key
is that cat is an animal of the family Felidae while key is an object designed to open and close a lock.As verbs the difference between cat and key
is that cat is to hoist (the anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead while key is to fit (a lock) with a key.As adjectives the difference between cat and key
is that cat is terrible, disastrous while key is indispensable, supremely important.As proper nouns the difference between cat and key
is that cat is a diminutive of the female given name Catherine while Key is {{surname}.As an acronym CAT
is centre for Alternative Technology.cat
English
(wikipedia cat)Etymology 1
From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) , (etyl) (m).Noun
(en noun)Synonyms
* ) * (any member of the family Felidae) felid * feline cat, a feline * pantherine cat, a pantherine * panther (i.e. tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard), (narrow sense) panther (i.e. black panther) * , "saber-toothed cat" (saber-tooth) * (domestic species) puss, pussy, malkin, kitty, pussy-cat, grimalkin * (man) bloke (qualifier), chap (British), cove (UK), dude, fellow, fella, guy * (spiteful woman) bitch * See also * See alsoHyponyms
* (domestic species) housecat, malkin, kitten, mouser, tomcatDerived terms
* a cat may look at a king * all cats are grey in the dark, all cats are grey by night * alley cat * African golden cat * Andean cat * Asiatic golden cat * bay cat * black-footed cat * bobcat * barn cat * Burmese cat, Burmese * cat and mouse * cat box * cat food * cat that ate the canary, cat that swallowed the canary * cat in the meal-tub * cat in the sack * catbird * cat-block * cat-burglar * catcall * cat-eyed * caterwaul * catfish * cat-flap * cat-footed * cat got someone's tongue, cat got your tongue? * catgut * cat-harpin * cathead, cat-head * cat-house * cat-ice * catkin * cat-lap * cat-lick * catlike * catling * cat litter * catloaf * catly * catmint * cat-nap, cat nap, catnap * catnip * cat-o'-nine-tails * cat's cradle * cat's eye * cat's meat * cat's meow * cat's pajamas, the cat's pyjamas * cat's paw * cat scratch fever * cat state * cat's-tail * cat's whisker * cat's whiskers * cattish * catshit * cat-trap * catty * Caturday * catwalk, cat-walk * cat-witted * Chinese desert cat * copycat * curiosity killed the cat * domestic cat * fat cat * feral cat * fight like cats and dogs * fishing cat * flat-headed cat * Geoffroy's cat * housecat * it would make a cat laugh * jungle cat * lead a cat-and-dog life * leopard cat * let the cat out of the bag * like a cat in a strange garret * like a cat on hot bricks * like a cat on a hot tin roof * like herding cats * like the cat that got the cream * little spotted cat * lolcat * Maine Coon cat, Maine Coon * Manx cat, Manx * marbled cat * native cat * not enough room to swing a cat * Pallas cat * pampas cat * Persian cat, Persian * rain cats and dogs * reduced cat * Russian Blue cat, Russian Blue * rusty-spotted cat * sand cat * scaredy-cat * * Siamese cat, Siamese * spokescat * tabby cat, tabby * there's more than one way to skin a cat, there is more than one way to skin a cat * tom cat, tomcat * wait for the cat to jump * wildcat, wild cat * when the cat's away the mice will playSee also
* Burmese * feline * kitten, kitty * Manx * Maine Coon * meow * mog, moggie, moggy * miaow * nine lives * Persian * Russian Blue * * Siamese * tabbyVerb
(catt)Etymology 2
Abbreviation of catamaran .Etymology 3
Abbreviation of catenate .Noun
(en noun)Verb
(catt)Etymology 4
Possibly a shortened form of catastrophic.Adjective
(-)- The weather was cat , so they returned home early.
Usage notes
This usage is common in speech but rarely appears in writing.Etymology 5
Shortened from methcathinone.Noun
(-)Etymology 6
Shortened from catapult.References
key
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) keye, kaye, . For the semantic development, note that medieval keys were simply long poles (ending in a hook) with which a crossbar obstructing a door from the inside could be removed from the outside, by lifting it through a hole in the door.Noun
(en noun)Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time. 'Twas locked, of course, but the Deacon man got a big bunch of keys out of his pocket and commenced to putter with the lock.}}
- Those who are accustomed to reason have got the true key of books.
- who keeps the keys of all the creeds
- A girl, it is true, has always lived in a glass house among reproving relatives, whose word was law; she has been bred up to sacrifice her judgments and take the key submissively from dear papa; and it is wonderful how swiftly she can change her tune into the husband's.
- You fall at once into a lower key .
- if you know someone who is in the channel, you can query them and ask for the key .
- So starting with ten keys' of cocaine and two ' keys of heroin, Derrick put his plan in motion. Soon every major drug dealer and gang chief from Chicago Avenue to Evanston was in his pocket.
Derived terms
(Derived terms) * candidate key * card key * church key * foreign key * keyboard * keycard * key card * keychain, key chain * key fob, keyfob * keyhole * keynote * keypad * keyring, key ring * key signature * keystone * keystroke * keyword * major key * minor key * Morse key * primary key * public-key cryptography * skeleton key * unique keySee also
* clef * scale * (wikipedia "key") *Adjective
(en adjective)- He is the key player on his soccer team.
- Lukas intimates that one of Disney's key attractions was "Main Street USA,” which "mimicked a downtown business district just as Southdale" had done.
- She makes several key points.
citation, passage=Throughout the 1500s, the populace roiled over a constellation of grievances of which the forest emerged as a key focal point. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.}}
citation, page= , passage=With the north London derby to come at the weekend, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp opted to rest many of his key players, although he brought back Aaron Lennon after a month out through injury.}}
Usage notes
The first meaning is distinguished by the definite article, as seen in the quotations.Verb
(en verb)- So I worked on a tissue-paper copy of the perimeter plan, outlining groupings of plants of the same species and keying them with letters for the species.
- The volume closes with thirty pages of "Notes, critical and explanatory," in which Thomson provides seventy-six longer or shorter notes keyed to specific sections of the synopsis.
- Talk about similarities between the words and write them below to the left of the anchor, keying' them with a plus sign (+). Talk about the characteristics that set the words apart and list them below the box to the right, ' keying them with a tilde sign (~).
- Indicate the comparative value of each heading by keying it with a number in pencil, in the left margin, as follows:
- Our instructor told us to key in our user IDs.
- He keyed the car that had taken his parking spot.
- The American Heart Association has prepared their own guide to classification and, keying it with the Standard Nomenclature of Diseases , have done much to encourage a concise yet complete diagnosis.
- (Francis)