Words of the Day

/ˌkɑːsənəˈdʒenɪk◂ $ ˌkɑːr-/

likely to cause cancer

cat‧er‧waul /ˈkætəwɔːl $ -tərwɒːl/ verb [intransitive]

to make a loud high unpleasant noise like the sound a cat makes

late 14c., caterwrawen, perhaps from Low German katerwaulen "cry like a cat," or formed in English from cater, from Middle Dutch cater "tomcat" + Middle English waul "to yowl," apparently from Old English *wrag, *wrah "angry," of uncertain origin but all somehow imitative.

- I think I might have screamed out loud, I was so happy to be outside,
though nobody could have heard me in all that noise: I might as well have
been trying to scream over jet engines on the tarmac at LaGuardia during a
thunderstorm. It sounded like every fire truck, every cop car, every
ambulance and emergency vehicle in five boroughs plus Jersey was howling
and caterwauling out on Fifth Avenue, a deliriously happy noise: like New
Year’s and Christmas and Fourth of July fireworks rolled into one. (Tartt - Goldfinch)

- With a mellifluous name suggesting bucolic tranquility, Rep. Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Republican, is an unlikely object of the caterwauling recently directed at him and the House Freedom Caucus he leads. (WaPo, April 13, 2017)

/ˈkætkɪn/ noun [countable]  British English

a long soft flower that hangs in groups from the branches of trees such as the willow

Etymology: 1570s, from Dutch katteken "flowering stem of willow, birch, hazel, etc.," literally "kitten," diminutive of katte "cat" (see cat (n.)). So called for their soft, furry appearance.

Examples:

- The wind is blowing, blowing over the grass.
     It shakes the willow catkins; the leaves shine silver. (Adams - Watership Down)

- I threaded my way through a small growth of fresh-budding river
willows, found a conveniently screened rock in the sun, and spread out the
damp skirt of my shift, enjoying the warmth on my shoulders, the sharp
scent of the fuzzy catkins, and the sight before me. (Gabaldon - Echo)

- “I’m sure, Watson, a week in the country will be invaluable to you,” he
remarked. “It is very pleasant to see the first green shoots upon the
hedges and the catkins on the hazels once again. With a spud, a tin box,
and an elementary book on botany, there are instructive days to be spent.”
(Doyle - Complete Holmes)

caveat emp‧tor /ˌkæviæt ˈemptɔː, ˌkeɪv- $ -tɔːr/ noun [uncountable]  

law term: the principle that the person who buys something is responsible for checking that it is not broken, damaged etc

- Oh, Watson!’ Holmes chided me, laughing heartily. ‘The pendant is part of
the Scandinavian crown jewels! The man must know it was obtained illegally.
All I can say to that is caveat emptor, a very sensible piece of advice to
anyone buying an article of dubious origin. (Thomson - Holmes)

- “Well, you see, it’s complicated, because—” I wasn’t worried about the
people who believed they’d unearthed genuine Sheraton at bargain prices and
hurried away with their copies thinking they’d swizzled me. The old Caveat
Emptor rule more than applied there. I’d never claimed those pieces were
genuine. What worried me was the people I’d deliberately sold—deliberately
lied to. (Tartt - Goldfinch)

"weak, effeminate men", from sis(ter). Singular 'cissy'

Why the spelling with c- (sometimes) in British English?

e.g. in

- He said his name was Ashe with an ‘E’ he added quickly, and Leamas knew he
was lying. He pretended not to be quite sure that Leamas really was Leamas,
so over lunch they opened the parcel and looked at the National Insurance
card like, thought Leamas, a couple of cissies looking at a dirty postcard.
(John le Carre - The spy who came in from the cold)