Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “kitty-corner” come from?

kitty-corner (English) comes from English cater-corner, from English cater-cornered, from English cater, from Middle English catour, from Middle English acatour, from Old French acheter, from Vulgar Latin accaptare, from Latin acceptō — in.

kitty-corner (English): Cater-corner: located diagonally in relation to...

Definitions

  1. Cater-corner: located diagonally in relation to...

Ancestry of “kitty-corner”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishcater-cornerOf or pertaining to something at a diagonal to...
2Englishcater-corneredAlternative form of cater-corner
3EnglishcaterTo provide, "particularly:"; Synonym of acater:...
4Middle Englishcatouracater, provisioner
5Middle Englishacatouracater
6Old Frenchacheterto purchase; buy
7Vulgar Latinaccaptare—
8Latinacceptō—
9Latinaccipiō—
10Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
11Latinīn-—
12Latinîn—
13Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
14Proto-Italicenin
15Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →