Sentence:  A great number of children, amongst the lower classes, are Carolines. - - - A clergyman in my neighbourhood used to mistake the sound, and christen the babies Catharine; - a wise error, for <WSD>Kate</WSD> is a noble abbreviation. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  (dim=Katherine) "and related names, also used as a formal given name.