Dictionary

catcall en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈkætkɔl/ (General-American)

Etymology

First attested in the mid-17th c., from the resemblance to cats' nocturnal cries. From cat + call.

Meanings

1. A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.
   • There, amid the curses and catcalls of sweaty beer drinkers, the tour's headliners are set to engage in a hallowed feminist ritual: 1998 Aug, Vibe, page 44:
2. A shout, whistle, or comment of a harassingly sexual nature, usually made toward a passing woman, causing distress and trauma.
   • In the Room for Debate forum Stopping Street Harassment, the editors ask four people to weigh in on the question, Should current laws dealing with harassment be strengthened to include catcalling, or will that go too far in controlling speech and behavior? (A catcall in this context is defined as “a whistle, shout, or comment of a sexual nature to a woman passing by.”) 2014 November 12, Kathering Schulten, “What Have Been Your Experiences With Catcalling or Other Kinds of Street Harassment?”, in The New York Times:
3. (historical) A whistle blown by a theatre-goer to express disapproval.
   • At what period was the custom of blowing catcalls at the theatre discontinued? 1823, The Drama, Or, Theatrical Pocket Magazine, page 289:

Forms

Relateds

wit woo · swit swoo · wolf whistle

Translations (38)

de Hinterherpfeifen (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · ru приставание (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · de Ausbuhen (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · bg освиркване (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · pt piropo (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · nl boegeroep (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · gl apupo (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · fi huutelu (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · hu kőművesfütty (nők után) (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · fi vihellys (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · ca xiulada (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · de Pfiff (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · ru освистывание (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · pt apupo (boo) (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · hu kifütyülés (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · fi buuaus (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · fi vihellys (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · es rechifla (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · gl piropo (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · de Auspfeifen (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · bg дюдюкане (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · de Schmähruf (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · es abucheo (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · nl fluitconcert (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · pt vaia (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · hu (oda)füttyentés (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · cmn 性騷擾呼喊 /性骚扰呼喊 (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · cmn 噓聲 /嘘声 (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · sv burop (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · fi pilkka (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · es piropo (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · hu füttyögetés (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · fi viheltely (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · de Buhruf (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · pt assobiadela (shout or whistle expressing dislike) · de Nachpfeifen (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · hu utánafütyülés (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature) · hu füttyögés (shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature)

catcall en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈkætkɔl/ (General-American)

Etymology

First attested in the mid-17th c., from the resemblance to cats' nocturnal cries. From cat + call.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make such an exclamation.
   • When Susan Seligson thinks about breasts — and, since she’s a DDD-endowed (touché) middle-aged woman who’s been groped and catcalled her whole life, that’s often, too — she thinks about ... her own DDDs. 2007 January 4, Ada Calhoun, “Up Front”, in New York Times:

Forms

Deriveds

catcaller · catcallee

Translations (23)

cmn 噓罵 /嘘骂 (make such an exclamation) · es piropear (make such an exclamation) · sv bua (make such an exclamation) · es rechiflar (make such an exclamation) · hu (oda)füttyent (make such an exclamation) · bg освирквам (make such an exclamation) · hu füttyöget (make such an exclamation) · ru освистывать (make such an exclamation) · hu füttyög (nők után) (make such an exclamation) · bg свиркам (make such an exclamation) · de pfeifen (make such an exclamation) · es cuerdear (make such an exclamation) · gl apupar (make such an exclamation) · es chulear (make such an exclamation) · de ausbuhen (make such an exclamation) · de buhen (make such an exclamation) · fi huudella (make such an exclamation) · fi viheltää (make such an exclamation) · gl botar piropos (make such an exclamation) · de nachpfeifen (make such an exclamation) · de auspfeifen (make such an exclamation) · ru освистать (make such an exclamation) · es abuchear (make such an exclamation)

catcall en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈkætkɔl/ (General-American)

Etymology

Short for change availability or type + call.

Meanings

1. In the Eiffel programming language, a run-time error caused by use of the wrong data type.
   • Java does not let you make members more private than they are in parent classes, so has no catcall problem for changing availability. Thus to avoid catcalls with export problems, you should adopt a once-public, always-public policy. 1999, Ian Joyner, Objects Unencapsulated: Java, Eiffel, and C++?, page 244:

Forms