the latin and english form of a greek preposition, used as a prefix to signify down, downward, under, against, contrary or opposed to, wholly, completely; as in cataclysm, catarrh. it sometimes drops the final vowel, as in catoptric; and is sometimes changed to cath, as in cathartic, catholic.
CATA
Meaning of CATA in English
Webster English vocab. Английский словарь Webster. 2012