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catgut definition

cat·gut (kat′gut′)

noun

a tough string or thread usually made from the dried intestines of sheep, horses, etc. and used for surgical sutures, for stringing tennis rackets, etc.

Etymology: parallel with Du kattedarm, but ? altered by assoc. with cat < kit gut < obs. kit, fiddle (< ? cithara) + gut

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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