wildcat

Meaning

Noun

1. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically
2. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically
3. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically
4. A cat that lives in the wilderness, specifically
5. A person who acts like a wildcat, (usually) a violent and easily-angered person or a sexually vigorous one.
6. An offensive formation with an unbalanced line and a snap directly to the running back rather than the quarterback.
7. A wheel that can be adjusted so as to revolve either with or on the shaft of a capstan.
8. Clipping of wildcat cartridge.
9. Clipping of wildcat strike, a strike undertaken without authorization from the relevant trade union.
10. (obsolete) Clipping of wildcat money, notes issued by a wildcat bank.

Adj

1. Of or concerning businesses operating outside standard or legitimate practice, especially:
2. Of or concerning businesses operating outside standard or legitimate practice, especially:
3. Of or concerning businesses operating outside standard or legitimate practice, especially:
4. Of or concerning businesses operating outside standard or legitimate practice, especially
5. Of or concerning customized or hand-made cartridges.
6. Unauthorized by the proper authorities.

Verb

To drill for oil in an area where no oil has been found before.

Synonyms

fox

🦊

cat

😺

domestic cat

😺

Iriomote cat

unauthorized

wildcat well

European wildcat

unauthorised

savage

tiger cat

wolf

🐺

bobcat

beast

lynx

brute

nasty

nullified

ocelot

out-of-bounds

panther

perilous

prohibited

prospect

puma

risky

strike

tabby cat

temerarious

tomcat

tortious

under-the-counter

undocumented

undue

unlawful

unsafe

untamed

venturesome

venturous

wild

wrongful

stray cat

Corsican wildcat

feral cat

jungle cat

no ball

pioneer well

wild cat

wailk

adventurous

weelk

barbarian

bootleg

catamount

dangerous

desperate

foolhardy

hazardous

illegal

illegitimate

intractable

invalidated

jaguar

lawless

leopard

🐆

Hyphenated as

wild‧cat

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈwaɪldˌkæt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: wyld cat

Cognate with Middle Low German: wiltkatte

Cognate with German: Wildkatze

Cognate with Swedish: vildkatt

In summary

From Middle English wyld cat, wylde cat (in the plural as wild cattes, wylde catis, wyle cattes), equivalent to wild + cat. Cognate with Middle Low German wiltkatte, German Wildkatze, Swedish vildkatt.
Its adjectival senses were originally American and derived from the "wildcat banks" of Michigan, following its elevation to statehood in 1837. Two laws—one easing the requirements for establishing a new bank and another occasioned by the Panic of 1837 that removed the need for payment in specie—led to the creation and collapse of around 50 banks within two years. The term is apocryphally derived from a wildcat supposedly featured on the currency printed by one of these banks, but more probably derived from the remote locations "where the wildcats roamed" chosen by these banks to avoid oversight and minimize redemption of notes.