catgut
Americannoun
-
a strong cord made by twisting the dried intestines of animals, as sheep, used in stringing musical instruments and tennis rackets, for surgical sutures, etc.
noun
Etymology
Origin of catgut
1590–1600; apparently cat ( def. ) + gut, though allusion is obscure
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, composed of U.S and Canadian communities, first played lacrosse on wide-open stretches of land, using sticks fashioned from hickory and catgut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
In the 1800s, some began to make and sell lacrosse sticks - made from wood, catgut and leather - to outsiders.
From Washington Times ● May 13, 2018
They ran out of anaesthetic and catgut so they made do with ordinary thread.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 2, 2017
Music relied conspicuously on the slaughter of animals: horsehair bows drawn over catgut, horns torn from the heads of big game.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 27, 2016
I eased it off to find two rows of catgut stitches.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
