Dictionary.com
definitions

cata-

a prefix meaning “down,” “against,” “back,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (cataclysm; catalog; catalepsy); on this model, used in the formation of other compound words (catagenesis; cataphyll).

RELATED CONTENT

A Long List of Affixes: Suffixes, Prefixes, and Combining FormsSuffixes -able, -ible, -ile:  (form adjs) able to, fit to, worthy, capable; apt to; subject to being ~-ed -ac:  one affect with -ac, -al, -ane, -ar, -ary, -ch, -ese, -ic, -ical, -id, -ile, -ine, -ish, -ory:  like, of, pertaining to; characterized by -aceae:  families of plants -aceous, -ous:  resemblance to a substance; full of -acy, -age, -ance, -ancy, -asm, -dom, -ence, -ency, -hood, -ism, -ity, -ment, -mony, -ness, -ry, -ship, …
READ MORE

Nearby words

  1. cat-scratch disease,
  2. cat-scratch fever,
  3. cat-tail,
  4. cat-train,
  5. cat.,
  6. catabaptist,
  7. catabasis,
  8. catabiotic,
  9. catabolic,
  10. catabolism
Also especially before a vowel, cat-; cath-, kata-.

Origin of cata-

< Greek kata-, combining form of katá down, through, against, according to, towards, during
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for cata-

cata-

kata-, before an aspirate cath- or before a vowel cat-

prefix

down; downwards; lower in positioncatadromous; cataphyll
indicating reversal, opposition, degeneration, etccataplasia; catatonia

Word Origin for cata-

from Greek kata-, from kata. In compound words borrowed from Greek, kata- means: down (catabolism), away, off (catalectic), against (category), according to (catholic), and thoroughly (catalogue)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for cata-

cata-

word-forming element from Latinized form of Greek kata-, before vowels kat-, from kata "down from, down to." Its principal sense is "down," but occasionally it has senses of "against" (catapult)or "wrongly" (catachresis). Also sometimes used as an intensive or with a sense of completion of action (catalogue). Very active in ancient Greek, this prefix is found in English mostly in words borrowed through Latin after c.1500.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for cata-

cata-

pref.

Down:catabolism.
Reverse; backward; degenerative:cataplasia.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.