A timber or metal frame projecting from the side of a ship, used to raise and lower the anchor using a crane-like mechanism.
From 'cat' (possibly from Old Norse 'katill' meaning to lift or haul) plus 'head' (the end of a beam). Used in nautical terminology since the 17th century.
Ship designers used mechanical 'catheads' to hoist heavy anchors—the word 'catapult' actually comes from the same Latin root 'catapulta,' showing how the same idea of mechanical leverage appears across history.
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