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Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Why A "Cat" Is Called A "Cat"

The English word "cat" is very similar to the word used for our feline pets in other languages spoken in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The table below lists the word for cat and the language:

Kat Dutch
chat French
Katze German
gatta Greek
kottur Icelandic
gatto Italian
qattus Maltean
katt Norwegian
kot Polish
gato Spanish
katt Swedish

Clearly "cat" is an ancient word that spread into many regions from a single source. The source appears to be Arabic because the oldest use of "cat" is in North Africa where the term is "quttah".

A few other terms relating to cats originate from the Mediterranean. One is the word "tabby", which is derived from the Turkish word "utabi". And the general word for a cat in Turkey is "kedi", which may be the ancestor term for the English word "kitty".

From the Cat Nips newsletter.

You can check out my new CD "Whiskers in the Jar: Irish Songs for Cat Lovers" for some great cat music.

Labels: cat_news

posted by Marc Gunn of Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers Gift CD @ 11:56 AM

Cat Music Blog and Cat Lovers Podcast

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Why A "Cat" Is Called A "Cat"

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