Wiktionary

cat

See also: Appendix:Variations of "cat"

Translingual

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Symbol

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cat

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Catalan.

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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A domestic cat (etymology 1, noun, sense 1)

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English cat, catte, from Old English catt (“male cat”), catte (“female cat”), from Proto-West Germanic *kattu, from Proto-Germanic *kattuz, generally thought to be from Late Latin cattus (“domestic cat”) (c. 350, Palladius), from Latin catta (c. 75 A.D., Martial),[1] from an Afroasiatic language.

This would roughly match how domestic cats themselves spread, as genetic studies suggest they began to spread out of the Near East / Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic (being in Cyprus by 9500 years ago,[2][3] and Greece and Italy by 2500 years ago[4]), especially after they became popular in Egypt.[2][3] However, every proposed source word has presented problems. Adolphe Pictet[5] and many subsequent sources refer to Barabra (Nubian) [script needed] (kaddîska) and "Nouba" (Nobiin) ⲕⲁⲇⲓ̄ⲥ (kadīs, “kadīs”) as possible sources or cognates,[6] but M. Lionel Bender says the Nubian word is a loan from Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa).[7] Jean-Paul Savignac suggests the Latin word is from an Egyptian precursor of Coptic ϣⲁⲩ (šau, “tomcat”) suffixed with feminine -t,[8] but John Huehnergard says "the source [...] was clearly not Egyptian itself, where no analogous form is attested."[7]

It may be a Wanderwort.[9] Kroonen says the word must have existed in Germanic from a very early date, as it shows morphological alternations, and suggests that it might have been borrowed from Uralic, compare Northern Sami gađfe (“female stoat”) and Hungarian hölgy (“stoat; lady, bride”) from Proto-Uralic *käďwä (“female (of a fur animal)”).[10]

Cognates

Related to Scots cat, West Frisian kat, North Frisian kåt and kaat, Dutch kat, Danish kat, Norwegian katt, Swedish katt, German Low German Katt and Katte, German Katze, Alemannic German Chatz, Icelandic köttur, Afrikaans kat, Latin cattus, French chat, Norman cat, Occitan cat, Portuguese gato, Spanish gato, Aromanian cãtush, Scottish Gaelic cat, Irish cat, Breton kazh, Welsh cath, Cornish kath, as well as Ancient Greek κάττα (kátta), Greek γάτα (gáta), Turkish kedi, and from the same ultimate source Russian кот (kot), Ukrainian кіт (kit), Belarusian кот (kot), Polish kot, Kashubian kòt, Lithuanian katė, and more distantly Armenian կատու (katu), Basque katu, Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa) alongside dialectal Maghrebi Arabic قَطُّوس (qaṭṭūs) (from Berber, probably from Latin).

Alternative forms

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Noun

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cat (countable and uncountable, plural cats)

  1. An animal of the family Felidae:
    Synonyms: felid, feline, (member of the subfamily Pantherinae) pantherine, (technically, all members of the genus Panthera) panther
    • 2011, Karl Kruszelnicki, Brain Food, →ISBN, page 53:
      Mammals need two genes to make the taste receptor for sugar. Studies in various cats (tigers, cheetahs and domestic cats) showed that one of these genes has mutated and no longer works.
    2. A domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet. [from 8thc.]
      Synonyms: puss, pussy, kitty, pussy-cat, kitty-cat, grimalkin; see also Thesaurus:cat
      Hypernyms: housecat, malkin, kitten, mouser, tomcat
      • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
        At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.
    3. Any similar animal of the family Felidae, which includes lions, tigers, bobcats, leopards, cougars, cheetahs, caracals, lynxes, and other such non-domesticated species.
      • 1977, Peter Hathaway Capstick, Death in the Long Grass: A Big Game Hunter's Adventures in the African Bush, St. Martin's Press, page 44:
        I grabbed it and ran over to the lion from behind, the cat still chewing thoughtfully on Silent's arm.
      • 1985 January, George Laycock, “Our American Lion”, in Boys' Life, Boy Scouts of America, section 28:
        If you should someday round a corner on the hiking trail and come face to face with a mountain lion, you would probably never forget the mighty cat.
      • 2014, Dale Mayer, Rare Find. A Psychic Visions Novel, Valley Publishing:
        She felt privileged to be here, living the experience inside the majestic cat [i.e. a tiger]; privileged to be part of their bond, even for only a few hours.
  2. (uncountable) The meat of this animal, eaten as food.
    Synonyms: catflesh, cat meat, gutter rabbit (euphemistic), roof rabbit (euphemistic)
    • 1948, Harry Stephen Keeler, The Case of the Jeweled Ragpicker (The Screwball Circus Mysteries; 3), Wildside Press, published 2017, →ISBN:
      “[…]—Say, do you mind telling me if people around here really eat cats?” He felt a shiver in the pit of his stomach. “Do they eat cat?” said the little old man, profoundly shocked.
    • 2013, Peter Hessler, Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West, Harper Perennial, →ISBN:
      You do not eat cat simply for the thrill of eating cat. You eat cat because cats have a lively jingshen, or spirit, and thus by eating the animal you will improve your spirits.
    • 2013, James Bartleman, The Redemption of Oscar Wolf, Dundurn, →ISBN:
      I ate at a Chinese restaurant once, even though my friends told me I would probably be eating cat and dog disguised as chicken.
  3. A person:
    1. (offensive) A spiteful or angry woman. [from early 13thc.]
      Synonym: bitch
      • 1835 September, anonymous author, “The Pigs”, in The New-England Magazine, Vol. 9, 156:
        But, ere one rapid moon its tale has told, / He finds his prize — a cat — a slut — a scold.
    2. An enthusiast or player of jazz.
      jazz cat
      • 2008, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Hold on to Yourself”:
        I turn on the radio / There's some cat on the saxophone / Laying down a litany of excuses
    3. (slang, dated) A person (usually male).
      Synonyms: bloke, chap, cove, dude, fellow, fella, guy; see also Thesaurus:man
      • 1958, “Fever”, Eddie Cooley, Otis Blackwell, Peggy Lee (lyrics), performed by Peggy Lee:
        Now you've listened to my story / Here's the point that I have made / Cats were born to give chicks fever / Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
      • 1972, “Starman”, in The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, performed by David Bowie:
        Didn't know what time it was the lights were low / I leaned back on my radio / Some cat was layin' down some rock'n'roll 'lotta soul, he said
      • 1973 December, "Books Noted", discussing A Dialogue (by James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni), in Black World, Johnson Publishing Company, 77.
        BALDWIN: That's what we were talking about before. And by the way, you did not have to tell me that you think your father is a groovy cat; I knew that.
      • 1998, “Fiend”, in Respect, performed by Shaquille O'Neal:
        What fags are true I know what Mack's might do
        I'm quite familiar with cats like you
        Provoke to get me give me a good reason to smoke me
        Try to break me but never wrote me)
      • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 208:
        I started showing up early for every team practice, and when all those other cats jetted to hit the showers, I put in even more work on the court, eliminating my weaknesses, practicing drills and perfecting my outside shot.
      • 2006, “Sick of it all”, in Masta Ace (lyrics), Pariah:
        I am sick of rappers claiming they hot when they really not
        I am sick of rappers bragging about shit they ain’t really got
        These cats stay rapping about cars they don’t own
        I am sick of rappers bragging about models they don’t bone.[…]
        And I am sick of all these cats with no talent
        That never lived in the hood but yet their lyrics be so violent.
    4. (slang) A prostitute. [from at least early 15thc.]
      • 1999, Carl P. Eby, Hemingway's Fetishism. Psychoanalysis and the Mirror of Manhood, State University of New York Press, page 124:
        "Tell me. Willie said there was a cat in love with you. That isn't true, is it?" "Yes. It's true," Hudson corrects her, letting her think that by "cat" he means prostitute.
  4. (nautical) A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship.
    • 2009, Olof A. Eriksen, Constitution - All Sails Up and Flying, Outskirts Press, page 134:
      Overhaul down & hook the cat, haul taut. Walk away the cat. When up, pass the cat head stopper. Hook the fish in & fish the anchor.
  5. (chiefly nautical) Short for cat-o'-nine-tails.
    • 1839, Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, testimony by Henry L. Pinckney (Assembly No. 335), page 44:
      […] he whipped a black man for disobedience of his orders fifty lashes; and again whipped him with a cat, which he wound with wire, about the same number of stripes; […] he used this cat on one other man, and then destroyed the cat wound with wire.
  6. (archaic) A sturdy merchant sailing vessel (now only in "catboat").
  7. (archaic, uncountable) The game of trap ball.
    1. (archaic, countable) The trap in that game.
  8. (archaic) The pointed piece of wood that is struck in the game of tipcat.
  9. (slang, vulgar, African-American Vernacular) A vagina or vulva.
    • 1969, Iceberg Slim, Pimp: The Story of My Life, Holloway House Publishing:
      "What the hell, so this broad's got a prematurely-gray cat."
    • 2005, Carolyn Chambers Sanders, Sins & Secrets, Hachette Digital:
      As she came up, she tried to put her cat in his face for some licking.
    • 2007, Franklin White, Money for Good, Simon and Schuster, page 64:
      I had a notion to walk over to her, rip her apron off, sling her housecoat open and put my finger inside her cat to see if she was wet or freshly fucked because the dream I had earlier was beginning to really annoy me.
  10. A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.) with six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.
  12. (historical) A wheeled shelter, used in the Middle Ages as a siege weapon to allow assailants to approach enemy defences.
    Synonyms: tortoise, Welsh cat
    • 2000, Stephen O'Shea, The Perfect Heresy, Profile Books, page 97:
      From behind the narrow slits in the walls of Castellar, crossbowmen and archers took aim at the juddering cat as it came closer.
Derived terms
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Translations
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See cat/translations § Noun.

Verb

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cat (third-person singular simple present cats, present participle catting, simple past and past participle catted)

  1. (nautical, transitive) To hoist (an anchor) by its ring so that it hangs at the cathead.
    Synonym: cathead
    • 1922, Francis Lynde, Pirates’ Hope, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 226:
      The anchors were catted at the bows of the yacht […]
  2. (nautical, transitive) To flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.
  3. (slang) To vomit.
  4. To go wandering at night.
    • 1998, Mary Spencer, Lady’s Wager, page 324:
      "He doesn't realize that I know," Lord Callan said, "but it's been pretty obvious that most of his catting about London's darker alleys has been a search for his origins.
    • 2010, Claude Brown, Manchild in the Promised Land, page 18:
      This was going to be my first try at catting out. I went looking for somebody to cat with me.
    • 2012, Valerie Hansen, Wages of Sin:
      My own dear wife could have tended to his needs if she hadn't been out catting.
  5. To gossip in a catty manner.
    • 1932, Hugh Brooke, Man Made Angry, page 134:
      Men from young to middleaged, with matt faces, vivacious and brightly dressed, catted together in gay groups.
    • 1996, Alistair Boyle, The Unlucky Seven:
      They smiled, touched, rolled their eyes and raised their eyebrows, as they relived the audition and catted about some of their competition.
    • 2016, Melanie Benjamin, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, page 293:
      In the story, Lady Ina gossiped and catted about a parade of the rich and famous—Jackie Kennedy looking like an exaggerated version of herself, Princess Margaret so boring she made people fall asleep, Gloria Vanderbilt so ditzy she didn't recognize her first husband.
Translations
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See also

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Etymology 2

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From concatenate, derived from the program's function of concatenating files. Compare concat.

Noun

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cat (plural cats)

  1. (computing) A program and command in Unix that reads one or more files and directs their content to the standard output.

Verb

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cat (third-person singular simple present cats, present participle catting, simple past and past participle catted)

  1. (computing, transitive) To apply the cat command to (one or more files).
  2. (computing, slang) To dump large amounts of data on (an unprepared target), usually with no intention of browsing it carefully.

Etymology 3

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Abbreviations.

Noun

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cat (plural cats)

  1. (slang) A street name of the drug methcathinone.
  2. Abbreviation of catapult.
    a carrier's bow cats
  3. Abbreviation of catalytic converter.
  4. Abbreviation of catamaran.
    • 1966, Bruce Brown, director, The Endless Summer:
      These cats are a lot of fun in the harbor, but they're a real thrill on the open ocean riding ground swells.
  5. Abbreviation of category.
  6. Abbreviation of catfish.
    • 1913, Willa Cather, chapter 2, in O Pioneers!:
      She missed the fish diet of her own country, and twice every summer she sent the boys to the river, twenty miles to the southward, to fish for channel cat.
    • 1916, M. Shults, “Fishing for Yellow Cat in the Brazos”, in Field and Stream, vol. 21, 478:
      Fishing for cat is probably, up to a certain stage, the least exciting of all similar sports.
  7. Abbreviation of caterpillar.
    1. (slang) Any of a variety of earth-moving machines. (from their manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.)
    2. A ground vehicle which uses caterpillar tracks, especially tractors, trucks, minibuses, and snow groomers.
  8. Abbreviation of computed axial tomography. Often used attributively, as in “CAT scan” or “CT scan”.

Adjective

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cat (not comparable)

  2. (Ireland, colloquial) Catastrophic; terrible, disastrous.
    The weather was cat, so they returned home early.
Derived terms
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References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “cat”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ian Sample, DNA research identifies homeland of the domestic cat, in The Guardian (29 June 2007)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Claudio Ottoni, Wim Van Neer, Eva-Maria Geigl, et al, The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world, in Nature: Ecology & Evolution, volume 1 (19 June 2017) (doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0139); summarized e.g. by PLOS
  4. ^ Dennis C. Turner, Patrick Bateson, The Domestic Cat: The Biology of its Behaviour (→ISBN), page 93
  5. ^ Pictet, Adolphe (1859) Les origines indo-européennes, ou Les Aryas primitifs: essai de paléontologie linguistique, volume I, Paris: J. Cherbuliez, page 381
  6. ^ Otto Keller, Die antike Tierwelt, vol. 1: Säugetiere (Leipzig, 1909), 75; Walther von Wartburg, ed. Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, vol. 2 (Basel: R. G. Zbinden, 1922–1967), 520.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 John Huehnergard, “Qitta: Arabic Cats”, in Classical Arabic Humanities in Their Own Terms, ed. Beatrice Gruendler (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 407–18.
  8. ^ Jean-Paul Savignac, Dictionnaire français-gaulois, s.v. "chat" (Paris: Errance, 2004), 82.
  9. ^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “Katze”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 362
  10. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “*kattōn-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

Anagrams

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Indonesian

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Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Etymology

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From Malay cat, from Hokkien 漆 (chhat).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cat

  1. paint (a substance that is applied as a liquid or paste, and dries into a solid coating that protects or adds color/colour to an object or surface to which it has been applied)

Verb

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cat (active mengecat, passive dicat)

  1. (transitive) to paint
    1. to apply paint to
    2. to apply in the manner that paint is applied
    3. to cover (something) with spots of colour, like paint

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Irish

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cat

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old Irish catt,[1] from Proto-Celtic *kattos, from either Late Latin cattus or Proto-Germanic *kattuz.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cat m (genitive singular cait, nominative plural cait)

  1. cat (domestic feline; member of the Felidae)

Declension

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Declension of cat (first declension)
bare forms
singular plural
nominative cat cait
vocative a chait a chata
genitive cait cat
dative cat cait
forms with the definite article
singular plural
nominative an cat na cait
genitive an chait na gcat
dative leis an gcat
don chat 		leis na cait

Derived terms

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Mutation

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Mutated forms of cat
radical lenition eclipsis
cat chat gcat

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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  1. ^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “catt”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
  2. ^ Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, § 126, page 67
  3. ^ Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), Zweiter Band: Wörterbuch [Second volume: Dictionary], Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 148
  4. ^ de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1977) Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge: An Deilbhíocht [The Irish of Cois Fharraige: Accidence] (in Irish), 2nd edition, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath [Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies], page 313
  5. ^ Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn (1968) The Irish of Erris, Co. Mayo: A Phonemic Study, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, section 112, page 27
  6. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 381, page 128

Further reading

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Malay

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cat

Etymology

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Borrowed from Hokkien 漆 (chhat).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cat (Jawi spelling چت)

  1. paint (substance)

Affixed terms

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Descendants

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  • > Indonesian: cat (inherited)
  • → Tausug: sāt

Further reading

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old English catt (“male cat”), catte (“female cat”), this is in turn from Proto-Germanic *kattuz.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cat (plural cattes)

  1. cat (feline)

Synonyms

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Descendants

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References

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Norman

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Etymology

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From Old Northern French cat (variant of Old French chat) from Late Latin cattus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cat m (plural cats, feminine catte)

  1. cat
    • c. 1830, George Métivier, Lamentations de Damaris:
      Où'est donc qu'j'iron, mé et mes puches / Ma catte, et l'reste de l'écu?
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1903, Edgar MacCulloch, “Proverbs, Weather Sayings, etc.”, in Guernsey Folk Lore‎[4], page 514:
      Si ùn cat s'amord au lard, nou ne sairait l'en d's'amordre.
      If a cat takes a liking for bacon, you can't break her of it.
    • 2006, Peggy Collenette, “D'la gâche de Guernési”, in P'tites Lures Guernésiaises, Cromwell Press, published 2006, page 20:
      Ils d'visirent pour enne haeure, mais la Louise était pas chagrinaïe au tour sa pâte, pasqué a savait que le cat était à gardaïr la pâte caoude.
      They talked for an hour, but Louise was not worried about her dough, because she knew that the cat was keeping the dough warm.
  2. (Jersey) common dab (Limanda limanda)

Derived terms

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Old French

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Noun

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cat oblique singular, m (oblique plural caz or catz, nominative singular caz or catz, nominative plural cat)

  1. (Picard, Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of chat

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish قات (kat).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cat n (plural caturi)

  1. (dated) floor (storey)
    • 1892, Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Mr. Vucea:
      Mi-aduc bine aminte că unul sărea de la al cincilea cat, și c-o mână își ținea pălăria. Grozav îi era de pălărie!
      I remember well that one was jumping from the fifth floor, and was holding his hat with one hand. That proud was he of the hat!

Declension

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Declension of cat
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative cat catul caturi caturile
genitive-dative cat catului caturi caturilor
vocative catule caturilor

Scots

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle Scots cat, from Early Scots catte, from Middle English catte, cat, from Old English catte, catt, from Proto-West Germanic *kattu, from Proto-Germanic *kattuz.

Noun

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cat (plural cats)

  1. cat (Felis catus)

Scottish Gaelic

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Cat.

Etymology

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From Old Irish catt, borrowed from Late Latin cattus. Cognates include Irish cat and Manx kayt.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cat m (genitive singular cait, plural cait)

  1. cat (Felis catus)

Declension

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Declension of cat (type I masculine noun)
indefinite
singular plural
nominative cat cait
genitive cait chat
dative cat cait; cataibh✝
definite
singular plural
nominative (an) cat (na) cait
genitive (a') chait (nan) cat
dative (a') chat (na) cait; cataibh✝
vocative chait chata

✝ obsolete form, used until the 19th century

Derived terms

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Mutation

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Mutation of cat
radical lenition
cat chat

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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  1. ^ Oftedal, M. (1956) A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap
  2. ^ John MacPherson (1945) The Gaelic dialect of North Uist (Thesis)‎[2], Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh
  3. ^ Borgstrøm, Carl Hj. (1937) The dialect of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap
  4. ^ Seumas Grannd (2000) The Gaelic of Islay: A Comparative Study‎[3], Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen, →ISBN
  5. ^ Scouller, Alastair (2017) The Gaelic Dialect of Colonsay (PhD thesis), Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, page 103

Further reading

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  • Colin Mark (2003) “cat”, in The Gaelic-English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 118
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