noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Any of several perennial herbs, of the genus Typha, that have long flat leaves, and grow in marshy places. US, Yorkshire
2. 2
   tall erect herbs with sword-shaped leaves; cosmopolitan in fresh and salt marshes wordnet
3. 3
   A cat-o'-nine-tails.

Synonyms

All synonyms

bulrushbulrushcumbungireedmace

Etymology

From Middle English cattal, cattyle (also as cattestail), equivalent to cat + tail.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.