cat (Irish)
Where does "cat" come from?
The Irish word 'cat' descends from the Old Irish 'catt' and the Proto Celtic '*kattos'. Its ultimate origin remains a subject of linguistic debate, as the term likely traveled through Latin or Germanic sources as a loanword. The history of the word is complicated by its potential links to the Late Latin 'cattus' and the Proto Germanic '*kattuz', both of which may have been influenced by Afroasiatic terms like the Arabic 'qiṭṭ' or even the Proto Uralic '*käďwä', which referred to a female fur bearing animal. Because of these cross linguistic similarities, the term is often described as a Wanderwort, a word that spreads across many languages rather than following a single clear evolutionary path.
Full etymology tree
- cat (Irish), 'cat (domestic feline; member of the Felidae)'
- inherited catt (Old Irish), 'cat'
- inherited *kattos (Proto-Celtic), 'cat'
- borrowed cattus (Latin), 'a cat'
- borrowed *kattuz (Proto-Germanic), 'cat'
- inherited *kattos (Proto-Celtic), 'cat'
- inherited catt (Old Irish), 'cat'
Ancestors
- catt (Old Irish)
- *kattos (Proto-Celtic)
- cattus (Latin)
- *kattuz (Proto-Germanic)
Descendants and derived words
- caitín (Irish)
- catach (Irish)
- catachas (Irish)
- catán (Irish)
- cat crainn (Irish)
- cat mara (Irish)
- liopardchat (Irish)
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris