"tomcat" meaning in English

See tomcat in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: tomcats [plural]
Etymology: From Tom + cat, popularised by The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760), by an anonymous author, in which the male cat was called Tom. Etymology templates: {{m|en|Tom}} Tom, {{m|en|cat}} cat Head templates: {{en-noun}} tomcat (plural tomcats)
  1. A tom, an intact male cat. Categories (topical): Male people Categories (lifeform): Male animals
    Sense id: en-tomcat-en-noun-S~ia2TPd Disambiguation of Male people: 63 30 8 Disambiguation of Male animals: 69 19 12
  2. (informal) A promiscuous man. Tags: informal Synonyms: promiscuous man
    Sense id: en-tomcat-en-noun-SQ6hrH7E
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: tom cat, tom-cat

Verb

Forms: tomcats [present, singular, third-person], tomcatting [participle, present], tomcatted [participle, past], tomcatted [past]
Etymology: From Tom + cat, popularised by The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760), by an anonymous author, in which the male cat was called Tom. Etymology templates: {{m|en|Tom}} Tom, {{m|en|cat}} cat Head templates: {{en-verb|++}} tomcat (third-person singular simple present tomcats, present participle tomcatting, simple past and past participle tomcatted)
  1. (originally US, informal, of a man) To prowl for sexual gratification. Tags: informal Categories (lifeform): Domestic cats Derived forms: tomcat around Related terms: caterwaul
    Sense id: en-tomcat-en-verb--hqk4yaY Disambiguation of Domestic cats: 28 17 55 Categories (other): American English, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English entries with topic categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 25 27 47 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 17 17 66 Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 19 19 61
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: tom cat, tom-cat

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for tomcat meaning in English (4.1kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Tom"
      },
      "expansion": "Tom",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cat"
      },
      "expansion": "cat",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Tom + cat, popularised by The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760), by an anonymous author, in which the male cat was called Tom.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tomcats",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "tomcat (plural tomcats)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "69 19 12",
          "kind": "lifeform",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Male animals",
          "orig": "en:Male animals",
          "parents": [
            "Animals",
            "Male",
            "Lifeforms",
            "Gender",
            "All topics",
            "Life",
            "Biology",
            "Psychology",
            "Sociology",
            "Fundamental",
            "Nature",
            "Sciences",
            "Social sciences",
            "Society"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "63 30 8",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Male people",
          "orig": "en:Male people",
          "parents": [
            "Male",
            "People",
            "Gender",
            "Human",
            "Biology",
            "Psychology",
            "Sociology",
            "All topics",
            "Sciences",
            "Social sciences",
            "Fundamental",
            "Society"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A tom, an intact male cat."
      ],
      "id": "en-tomcat-en-noun-S~ia2TPd",
      "links": [
        [
          "tom",
          "tom"
        ],
        [
          "intact",
          "intact"
        ],
        [
          "cat",
          "cat"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "A promiscuous man."
      ],
      "id": "en-tomcat-en-noun-SQ6hrH7E",
      "links": [
        [
          "promiscuous",
          "promiscuous"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) A promiscuous man."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "promiscuous man"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "tom cat"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "tom-cat"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tomcat"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Tom"
      },
      "expansion": "Tom",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cat"
      },
      "expansion": "cat",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Tom + cat, popularised by The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760), by an anonymous author, in which the male cat was called Tom.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tomcats",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tomcatting",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tomcatted",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tomcatted",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "tomcat (third-person singular simple present tomcats, present participle tomcatting, simple past and past participle tomcatted)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "25 27 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 17 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 19 61",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "28 17 55",
          "kind": "lifeform",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Domestic cats",
          "orig": "en:Domestic cats",
          "parents": [
            "Cats",
            "Felids",
            "Carnivores",
            "Mammals",
            "Vertebrates",
            "Chordates",
            "Animals",
            "Lifeforms",
            "All topics",
            "Life",
            "Fundamental",
            "Nature"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "tomcat around"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 539",
          "text": "He would not go roaming the streets tom-catting like Mr Schick.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To prowl for sexual gratification."
      ],
      "id": "en-tomcat-en-verb--hqk4yaY",
      "links": [
        [
          "prowl",
          "prowl"
        ],
        [
          "gratification",
          "gratification"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally US, informal, of a man) To prowl for sexual gratification."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a man"
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "caterwaul"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "tom cat"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "tom-cat"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tomcat"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English eponyms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English pleonastic compound nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "en:Domestic cats",
    "en:Male animals",
    "en:Male people"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Tom"
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      "name": "m"
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cat"
      },
      "expansion": "cat",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Tom + cat, popularised by The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760), by an anonymous author, in which the male cat was called Tom.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tomcats",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "tomcat (plural tomcats)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A tom, an intact male cat."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "tom",
          "tom"
        ],
        [
          "intact",
          "intact"
        ],
        [
          "cat",
          "cat"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English informal terms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A promiscuous man."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "promiscuous",
          "promiscuous"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) A promiscuous man."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "promiscuous man"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "tom cat"
    },
    {
      "word": "tom-cat"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tomcat"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English eponyms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English pleonastic compound nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "en:Domestic cats",
    "en:Male animals",
    "en:Male people"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "tomcat around"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Tom"
      },
      "expansion": "Tom",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cat"
      },
      "expansion": "cat",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Tom + cat, popularised by The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760), by an anonymous author, in which the male cat was called Tom.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tomcats",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tomcatting",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tomcatted",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tomcatted",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "tomcat (third-person singular simple present tomcats, present participle tomcatting, simple past and past participle tomcatted)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "caterwaul"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English informal terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 539",
          "text": "He would not go roaming the streets tom-catting like Mr Schick.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To prowl for sexual gratification."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "prowl",
          "prowl"
        ],
        [
          "gratification",
          "gratification"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(originally US, informal, of a man) To prowl for sexual gratification."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a man"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "tom cat"
    },
    {
      "word": "tom-cat"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tomcat"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.