English
cat
Cat comes from Middle English cat ‘cat (feline)’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *kattuz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kattuzreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kattureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150catt‘male cat’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cat‘cat’
- Englishearliest quotation 1835same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kattuzreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kattureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150catt‘male cat’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cat‘cat’
- Englishearliest quotation 1835same form
Earliest quotation: 1835, The Pigs: “But, ere one rapid moon its tale has told,…”
The story
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), possibly from an Afroasiatic language. A loan from Afro-Asiatic into European languages would roughly match how the animal itself spread, as genetic studies suggest domestic cats first began to spread out of the Near East / Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic, especially after they became popular and domesticated in Egypt 4000 years ago; they were found in Greece and Italy later, 2500 years ago. However, every proposed source word has presented problems. Adolphe Pictet and many subsequent sources refer to Barabra (Nubian) [script needed] (kaddîska) and "Nouba" (Nobiin) ⲕⲁⲇⲓ̄ⲥ (kadīs, “kadīs”) as possible sources or cognates, but M.
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *kattuz
Today it means
noun A mammal of the family Felidae.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *kattuz / cat