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tomcat

The English word “tomcat” has 4 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A tom (male cat).
  2. A promiscuous man.
  3. An insect of the order Coleoptera referring to certain species of rove beetles, particularly in the genus Paederus, known for secreting a potent irritant, pederin, which can cause severe skin irritation and blistering when contacted.

verb

  1. To prowl for sexual gratification.

Etymology

From Tom + cat, popularised by The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760), by an anonymous author, in which the male cat was called Tom.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.