Where does “kitty” come from?
Kitty derives from English kit, which comes from Middle English -y, from Middle French -ie, from Latin -ia, from Latin -ivus, from Latin -ia, from Proto-Indo-European -kos.
kitty (English): A kitten or young cat; A pet name for a cat; A...
Definitions
- A kitten or young cat; A pet name for a cat; A...
Ancestry of “kitty”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | kit | A circular wooden vessel, made of hooped staves;... |
| 2 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 3 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 4 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |