catcall

Meanings

Noun

• A shout or whistle expressing dislike, especially from a crowd or audience; a jeer, a boo.
• A shout, whistle, or comment of a sexual nature, usually made toward a passing woman.
• A whistle blown by a theatre-goer to express disapproval.
• In the Eiffel programming language, a run-time error caused by use of the wrong data type.

Verb

• To make such an exclamation.

Origin

• cat + call Mid-17th c. < the resemblance to cats' nocturnal cries.
• Short for change availability or type + call.