cathead

Meanings

1. A heavy piece of timber projecting somewhat horizontally from each side of the bow of a ship on which an anchor is raised or lowered, and secured when not used, from its stock end.
2. A decorative element at the end of such a timber that often depicts a cat's head.
3. A (small) capstan (“vertical cylindrical machine that revolves on a spindle, used to apply force to cables, ropes, etc.”) or windlass (“type of winch”) forming part of hoisting machinery.
4. A nodule of ironstone containing fossil remains.
5. Ellipsis of cathead biscuit (“a large fluffy biscuit, typically served with gravy”).

1. Synonym of cat (“to hoist (an anchor) so that it hangs at the cathead (noun sense 1.1)”)

Etymology

The noun is derived from cat + head. Sense 1.1 (“heavy piece of timber projecting from a ship on which an anchor is raised or lowered, and secured”) is from the fact that such a timber traditionally had a cat or lion’s head carved on its end. Sense 4 (“ellipsis of cathead biscuit”) is apparently from the fact that the biscuit is similar in size to a cat’s head. The verb is derived from the noun.