cattus

Meaning

1. Late LatinMedieval Latinmasculinea cat
   Nulli visa ad ipsum retulit numen: nam arcus semper videtur: quem non Irim, sed viam Iridis dixit. alii celeritatis esse volunt 'nulli visa'. notandum sane etiam de Iride arcum genere masculino dicere Vergilium: Catullus et alii genere feminino ponunt, referentes ad originem, sicut 'haec cattus' et 'haec gallus' legimus.c. 4th-5th century, Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii Aeneidem commentarii 5.610
   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.1558, Martin Luther, Theologiae Martini Lutheri Trimembris Epitome, De Tertio Statu Hominis:

Declension

Origins

Unknown; perhaps borrowed from a Nilo-Saharan or Afroasiatic language, compare Nubian kadīs (“cat”), Arabic قِطّ (qiṭṭ, “cat, tomcat”), Classical Syriac ܩܛܘ (qaṭṭu, “cat”), or possibly a Wanderwort, compare Proto-Uralic *käďwä (“female (of a fur animal)”) and Proto-Germanic *kattuz.

In English words that came into English from cattus

• catcattus