cattus

Latin

Alternative forms

catus
gatus

Etymology

Unknown; possibly a Wanderwort,[1] compare Proto-Uralic *käďwä (“female (of a fur animal)”)[2], or perhaps borrowed from a Nilo-Saharan or Afroasiatic language[3], compare Nubian kadī (“cat”), Arabic قِطّ‎ (qiṭṭ, “cat, tomcat”), Classical Syriac ܩܛܘ‎ (qaṭṭu, “cat”).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkat.tus/, [ˈkät̪ːʊs̠]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkat.tus/, [ˈkät̪ːus]
Audio (Classical) (file)

Noun

cattus m (genitive cattī); second declension[4][5][6]

(post-Classical) a cat
- 1558, Martin Luther, Theologiae Martini Lutheri Trimembris Epitome, De Tertio Statu Hominis:
  Affirmant quod quanto sceleratior es, tanto citius Deus gratiam infundit: si autem adornes te, ut cattus bonis operibus, ut te Deus acceptet, nihil efficias.
  They assert that the more a miscreant you are, the sooner God showers grace upon you: if, however, you should adorn yourself, like a cat, with good works, so that God accepts you, you shall bring about nothing.
- 1656, Guillaume Pepin, Conciones Mysticae et Morales in Septem Psalmos Poenitentiales, p. 38:
  [...] illa accepit bovem & cattum, et utrumque duxit ad forum. Cumque quiddam venisset qui bovem emere veller. Illa respondit. Nullus habebit bovem, nisi etiam emat & cattum. Cumque ille dixisset non velle emere cattum, abiit. Et statim venit alius & interrogat quanti pretii utrumque foret. Illa dixit se velle vendere cattum pro una marcha argentari, sed bovem pro denario, & sic convenerunt.
  [...] she took the ox and the cat, and led both to the market. Anytime someone came who wanted to buy the ox, she responded: None shall have an ox, unless besides he also buys a cat. Any time someone said he did not want to buy a cat, he left. And immediately another came and asked what price for each. She said she wanted to sell a cat for one silver mark, but an ox for a denarius, and so they came to an agreement.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	cattus	cattī
Genitive	cattī	cattōrum
Dative	cattō	cattīs
Accusative	cattum	cattōs
Ablative	cattō	cattīs
Vocative	catte	cattī

Synonyms

fēlēs, mūsiō, mūriceps, mūrilegus, pilāx, mūscipula

Related terms

catta f

Descendants

Dalmatian:
- cuot
Italo-Romance:
- Corsican: ghjattu, gattu, ghiattu
- Italian: gatto
- Sicilian: gattu, jattu
Padanian:
- Friulian: gjat
- Istriot: gato
- Ladin: giat
- Piedmontese: ciat
- Romagnol: gat
- Romansch: giat, gat
- Venetian: gato
Northern Gallo-Romance:
- Bourguignon: chait
- Franco-Provençal: chat
- Old French: chat
  - Middle French: chat
    - French: chat
Southern Gallo-Romance:
- Catalan: gat
- Occitan: cat, chat, gat
Ibero-Romance:
- Asturian: gatu
- Ladino: gato
- Old Portuguese: gato
  - Galician: gato
  - Portuguese: gato
    - Annobonese: gatu
    - Kabuverdianu: gátu
    - →? Gulf Arabic: قطو‎ (gaṭu)
- Spanish: gato
Insular Romance:
- Sardinian: gattu, battu, cattu
Borrowings:
- → Koine Greek: κάττος (káttos), masculine of κάττα (kátta)
  - Mediaeval Greek κάττος (káttos) / κάτος (kátos) / γάτος (gátos)
    - Modern Greek: γάτος (gátos)
    - → Ottoman Turkish: كدی‎ (kedi)
      - Turkish: kedi
- → Basque: katu
- → Maltese: qattus
- → Old Irish: catt (see there for further descendants)
- → Proto-Germanic: *kattuz (uncertain) (see there for further descendants)
- → Proto-Slavic: *kotъ (see there for further descendants)
- → Translingual: Catus (obsolete)

References

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
Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*kattōn-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 281-282
Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006) The Oxford introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European world, Oxford University Press, page 141
cattus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
cattus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
cattus in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016

[1] 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

[2] Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*kattōn-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 281-282

[3] Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006) The Oxford introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European world, Oxford University Press, page 141

[4] ttus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

[5] ttus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

[6] ttus in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016