| carbuncle | n. | severe subcutaneous abscess; red sore on nose or face caused by drinking; red or fiery gem | ||
| carceralism | n. | philosophy of or belief in prisons and imprisonment as a public safety institution | ||
| cariostatic | adj. | having the property of preventing or halting production of dental caries (cavities) | ||
| carious | adj. | having cavities; rotten | ||
| carking | adj. | worrisome, distressful | archaic | |
| carl | n. | churl, peasant | archaic | |
| carphology | n. | plucking at bed linen while in a delirious state | ||
| carter | n. | driver of a cart | ||
| cartulary | n. | bound collection of original documents, charters, etc.; register of transcriptions of important papers; person in charge of records or public papers | ||
| casemate | n. | bombproof shelter for troops or for artillery | ||
| casern | n. | garrison lodging, barracks | ||
| cassock | n. | long, coat-like garment worn by priests and other religious in Catholic and certain Protestant denominations | ||
| cast in one’s eye | n. | the condition of having one eye twisted permanently to one side, the state of being cockeyed | idiom | |
| castellan | n. | governor of a castle | ||
| castrametation | n. | the science of laying out a military camp | ||
| cat | v. | to vomit | slang | |
| cat’s ice | n. | very thin ice, layer of ice formed over puddles from which water has receded | ||
| cat’s-paw | n. | person used as a tool of another; [nautical] tiny breeze making ripples on a similarly small area of water; [nautical] hitch used to bind tackles to rope | ||
| catachresis | n. | improper use of words | ||
| catadromous | adj. | of animals which migrate from freshwater to the sea in order to spawn | ||
| catafalque | n. | raised platform upon which body of deceased is placed during funeral or funeral procession | ||
| catalectic | adj. | missing the last metrical foot in a line of verse | ||
| catamite | n. | a boy or youth in a sexual relationship with a man | ||
| catamount | n. | leopard, ocelot, lynx, or panther; (U.S.) puma or cougar | ||
| cataplasm | n. | poultice; plaster | obsolete | |
| catarrh | n. | secretions from the nose and eyes which accompany allergies or a cold | ||
| catasterize | v. | (in mythology) to transform a creature or person into a star or other celestial object | ||
| catchment area | n. | area from which water drains into a particular lake or basin; area served by school or other institution | British | |
| cate | n. | food delicacy | ||
| catechumen | n. | person receiving instruction before Christian confirmation or baptism | ||
| caterwaul | v. | to yowl like rutting cats | ||
| cathexis | n. | investment of emotional energy upon a specific thing; such energy invested | ||
| catoblepas | n. | ancient name for African animal of unsure genus | ||
| catoptric | adj. | of or related to a mirror, or to optical reflection | ||
| cattywampus | adj. | arranged incorrectly or diagonally; askew | ||
| cautelous | adj. | cautious; treacherous and artful, insidious | ||
| cavass | n. | (also kavass) armed policeman; guide or courier (Turkish) | ||
| cavernicolous | adj. | living in caves | ||
| cavil | v. | to quibble, to find petty objections | ||
| ceil | v. | to finish or line a surface, esp. a ceiling | ||
| celadon | n. | pale willow-green | ||
| cellarage | n. | area or space of a cellar; rent for use of cellar space | ||
| celt | n. | unhafted bladed tool, usu. of stone or bronze, used as chisel or handleless axe | ||
| cemeterian | n. | caretaker of a cemetery | ||
| cenacle | n. | room in which the Last Supper was held; upper chamber, room for dining or supping; group of people, clique | ||
| cenobite | n. | monk | ||
| cenotaph | n. | tomb or sepulchral monument for person whose body lies elsewhere | ||
| censor | v. | to remove or suppress objectionable content from work to be published or promulgated | ||
| ceorl | n. | one of the lowest rank of freemen, in medieval times (more commonly churl) | ||
| cepe | n. | edible mushroom, porcini |
