[f. CAT + HAIR, in Fr. poil de chat (Cotgr.).]
† 1. A kind of tumor or sore. Obs.
1552. Huloet, Cattes heere … furunculus.
1562. Turner, Herbal, II. (1568), 64 b. Cresses … driueth furth … sores such as one is called Cattis hare.
1585. Lloyd, Treas. Health, T iv. The sore yt is called a cattes heare & brekinge out in the fingers.
1611. Cotgr., Poil de chat, a Cats haire.
1616. Surfl. & Markh., Countr. Farme, 116. Hard swellings, whether they be called cat-haires or cornes.
2. Sc. a. ‘The down on the face of boys, before the beard grows.’ b. ‘The thin hair that often grows on the bodies of persons in bad health’ (Jamieson).
