catch English · revision 2812

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1200, Layamon|origins=la capiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kætʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cacchen|t=to chase, catch]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|xno|cachier|t=to catch, capture (animals); to chase, hunt]], an Old North French variant of Old French chacier (modern chasser),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-vul|*captiāre|t=to try to seize, chase]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) an alteration of [[la|captāre|t=to try to catch, chase]], the frequentative of [[m|la|capere|t=to take, seize]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*kap-|t=to grasp]].^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[chase]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The noun is from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To capture, ensnare, receive, chase: probably before 1200, in Layamon's ''Brut'' and the ''Ancrene Riwle'',^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Early Middle English senses included “to chase”, which later went with [[chase]].^(Etymonline) ''Catch'' took over the sense “to seize” from the native [[latch]], Old English læccan, together with its past forms: caught was modelled on laught.^(Hoad 1986) Of sleep it is from the early 14th century, of infections from the 1540s, and of fire from 1734.^(Etymonline) ''Catch the eye'' is by 1718,^(Etymonline) the baseball catcher's role from 1865,^(Etymonline) and ''catch on'', “to understand”, by 1884, colloquial American English.^(Etymonline) The noun meant a device holding a door latch, or a trap, in the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) the number of fish caught at once from 1465,^(OED 1989) and that which is worth catching, later especially a spouse, from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) In music a catch is a round, from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986) The sense “hidden snag” is slang first found in 1855, in P. T. Barnum.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – to capture, chase.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – noun, a catch on a door.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1465 – a catch of fish.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1540s – to catch an infection.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – something worth catching.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1718 – ''catch the eye''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1734 – to catch fire.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1855 – a hidden snag.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1884 – ''catch on''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take hold of something moving; to [[grasp]] or [[seize]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To capture or [[trap]], as an animal or a criminal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To discover or come upon suddenly: ''caught them stealing''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To reach in time: ''catch a train''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To become infected with: ''catch a cold''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To hear or understand: ''I didn't catch your name''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To become entangled or hooked; of fire, to start burning.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of catching, especially a ball.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something caught, especially the amount of fish caught at once.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A device for fastening, such as a [[latch]] on a door.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A hidden [[snag]] or drawback.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A person considered a desirable partner.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(music)'' A [[round]] for three or more voices.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[catchable]]

+ * [[bycatch]]

+ * [[Catch-22]]

+ * [[catchline]]

+ * [[catchy]]

+ * [[catch crop]]

+ * [[fair catch]]

+ * [[safety catch]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chase]]

+ * [[capture]]

+ * [[captive]]

+ * [[latch]]

+ * [[ketch]]

+ * [[catcher]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The past tense and past participle are ''caught'', while ''catched'' is now dialect and non-standard.^(SOED 2002) A separate noun ''catch'', a strongly built two-masted boat, is from the 15th century and is a variant of [[ketch]].^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}