Furball

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dense clump or tangled mass of fur ; a compact hairball that an animal coughs up or vomits
2. A thick cluster of animal hair matted together ; a pellet of hair brought up from an animal's stomach
3. A tightly packed ball of fur often shed or found on surfaces ; a hairball regurgitated by cats or similar pets

Etymology: "Furball" is a plain compound: "fur" joined to "ball," the latter meaning a rounded mass or lump. The result describes something that looks like a round clump of fur, and the word has stayed close to that literal picture. Its most familiar use is for a small, fluffy animal, most often a cat, curled up into a tight, rounded shape. The same image gives the word its colloquial sense of a cat's hairball, the clump of fur a cat coughs up after grooming. Here the compound is more literal still: a ball made of fur, produced inside the animal and brought back out.

Synonyms: hairball, clump, tangle, bunch