kate

n. a short form of the female name Katherine.

n. a diminutive form of the female given name Katherine, frequently used as a formal name in its own right.

“My friend Kate is coming over for dinner this evening.”

“Kate was named after her grandmother, though she prefers the shorter version to the more formal Katherine used on her birth certificate.”

n. a local name in Kent, England, for a bird called a brambling.

n. a regional dialectal term, specifically from Kent, referring to the brambling finch (Fringilla montifringilla).

“The old farmer pointed out a kate nesting in the hedge.”

“While modern birdwatchers use standard nomenclature, some residents in rural Kent still refer to the brambling as a kate.”

British English · Dialect