Where does “herd cats” come from?
herd cats (English) comes from English Cat, from English concatenate, from Latin concatenatus, from Latin concateno, from Latin cōn-, from Latin cum, from Old Latin com, from Proto-Italic kom — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
herd cats (English): To attempt to control the uncontrollable; Used...
Definitions
- To attempt to control the uncontrollable; Used...
Ancestry of “herd cats”, step by step
herd cats traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Cat
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Cat | A piece of heavy machinery, such as a backhoe, of... |
| 2 | English | concatenate | To join or link together, as though in a chain;... |
| 3 | Latin | concatenatus | which is to be linked or bound together or connected |
| 4 | Latin | concateno | concatenate; link or chain together |
| 5 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 6 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 7 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 11 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 12 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 13 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 14 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 15 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English herd
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | herd | A number of domestic animals assembled together... |
| 2 | Dutch | hert | A deer, a ruminant of the family Cervidae; may... |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | hert | deer; hearth, fireplace |
| 4 | Old Dutch | herth | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | herþ | hearth, fireplace |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | herþaz | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kérh₃-to-s | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kerh₃- | to burn; to praise; to burn; fire, heat |