cater

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈkeɪɾɚ/ UK /ˈkeɪtə/ See IPA manual

Freq #20115

Meanings

1

verb
To provide what someone wants or needs, especially a particular group.

This hotel caters to families with young children.
2

verb
To provide food and drink for an event.

A local company catered for the wedding.
3

noun
A person or company that provides food for events.

The cater arrived early to set up the buffet.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to provide what someone... supply

3 noun · a person or company that... caterer

Word family

Forms cateredcaters

Derived forms cater-pointcater-treycater-waitercaterercateresscateryself-cateredself-catering

Etymology

Probably ultimately from French quatre (“four”), possibly via cater (“change-ringing”), although Liberman argues for a derivation from a North Germanic prefix meaning "crooked, angled, clumsy" from which he also derives cater-cousin and, via Norse, Old Irish cittach (“left-handed, awkward”). He finds this more likely than extension of the dice and change-ringing term cater as an adverb, given the likely cognates in other Germanic languages. Caterpillar and caterwaul are unrelated, being derived from cognates to cat, but may have influenced the pronunciation of Liberman's proposed earlier *cate…

quatre French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# cater

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkeɪɾɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkeɪtə/
**Frequency rank:** 20115

## Meanings
1. To provide what someone wants or needs, especially a particular group.
2. To provide food and drink for an event.
3. A person or company that provides food for events.

## Examples
- This hotel caters to families with young children.
- A local company catered for the wedding.
- The cater arrived early to set up the buffet.

## Derived Forms
- cater-point
- cater-trey
- cater-waiter
- caterer
- cateress
- catery
- self-catered
- self-catering

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: quatre

## Etymology
Probably ultimately from French quatre (“four”), possibly via cater (“change-ringing”), although Liberman argues for a derivation from a North Germanic prefix meaning "crooked, angled, clumsy" from which he also derives cater-cousin and, via Norse, Old Irish cittach (“left-handed, awkward”). He finds this more likely than extension of the dice and change-ringing term cater as an adverb, given the likely cognates in other Germanic languages. Caterpillar and caterwaul are unrelated, being derived from cognates to cat, but may have influenced the pronunciation of Liberman's proposed earlier *cate…

## AI Etymology
Cater is probably ultimately from French quatre (“four”), possibly via cater (“change-ringing”), although Liberman argues for a derivation from a North Germanic prefix meaning "crooked, angled, clumsy" from which he also derives cater-cousin and, via Norse, Old Irish cittach (“left-handed, awkward”). He finds this more likely than extension of the dice and change-ringing term cater as an adverb, given the likely cognates in other Germanic languages. Caterpillar and caterwaul are unrelated, being derived from cognates to cat, but may have influenced the pronunciation of Liberman's proposed earlier *cate… Important recorded forms include quatre (French). Current senses include to provide what someone wants or needs, especially a particular group, to provide food and drink for an event, and a person or company that provides food for events. The wider family includes derived forms such as cater-point, cater-trey, cater-waiter, caterer, and cateress.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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