Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

cătăracta (also cătarracta), ae, f. (cătarractes, ae, m., Plin. and Sol.; v. the foll.), = ὁ καταρράκτης or καταράκτης.

  1. I. Lit., a waterfall, in gen.; the waterfalls of the Euphrates, Plin. 5, 24, 20, § 85.
    Hence,
    1. B. Meton. and κατ’ ἐξοχήυ, the celebrated fall of the Nile on the southern borders of Egypt, the Cataract: novissimo catarracte, Plin. 5, 9, 10, § 54.
      Acc. catarracten, Plin. 5, 9, 10, § 59; Sol. 32: pervenit ad cataractam, Vitr. 8, 2, 6.
      Plur. fem.: cataractae, nobilis insigni spectaculo locus, Sen. Q. N. 4, 2, 4: praecipites cataractae, Luc. 10, 317; Amm. 22, 15, 9.
  2. II. In milit. lang., a drawbridge, portcullis, Veg. Mil. 4, 4; Liv. 27, 28, 10 and 11.
  3. III. A water-sluice, floodgate, Plin. Ep. 10, 61 (69), 4; Rutil. 1, 481 Zumpt.
  4. IV. A waterbird (that pounces down quickly), Plin. 10, 44, 61, § 126.

Cătăractes or Cătarrhactes, ae, m., = Καταρρακτης, a river in Pampnylia, now the Duden Su, Mel. 1, 14, 2; Plin. 5, 27, 26, § 96.