catgut
/ˈkætˌɡʌt/
"catgut" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“catgut” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cord of great toughness made from the intestines of animals, especially of sheep, used for strings of musical instruments, racquets, sutures etc.
Corpus desk
Index EN-catgut · catgut · English
catgut · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | catgut |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkætˌɡʌt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “catgut” in English
Rare enough to double-check
catgut is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkætˌɡʌt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for catgut in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Possibly an abbreviation of the word cattlegut. Alternatively, it may derive by folk etymology from kitgut or kitstring — the word kit, meaning fiddle, having at some point been confused with the word kit for a young cat. The correct English form is catgut, spelled C-A-T-G-U-T.
Definition
- 1A cord of great toughness made from the intestines of animals, especially of sheep, used for strings of musical instruments, racquets, sutures etc.
- 2The material from which such cords are made.
- 3A sort of linen or canvas, with wide interstices.
- 4Tephrosia virginiana (goat's rue, devil's shoestring).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how catgut appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The thing about Proust is his combination of the utmost sensibility with the utmost tenacity. He searches out these butterfly shades to the last grain. He is as tough as catgut & as evanescent as a butterfly's bloom.
Eventually they carved small paddles to strike the ball and refined this implement with a mesh of catgut.
Etymology
Possibly an abbreviation of the word cattlegut. Alternatively, it may derive by folk etymology from kitgut or kitstring — the word kit, meaning fiddle, having at some point been confused with the word kit for a young cat.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.