Where does “scaredy-cat” come from?
scaredy-cat (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,...
scaredy-cat (English): A coward; a person who is easily frightened or...
Definitions
- A coward; a person who is easily frightened or...
Ancestry of “scaredy-cat”, step by step
scaredy-cat 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 scared
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | scared | Feeling fear; afraid, frightened; simple past... |
| 2 | English | scare | A minor fright; A cause of slight terror;... |
| 3 | Middle English | sker | Terror, fright |
| 4 | Middle English | skerren | to frighten |
| 5 | Old Norse | skirra | frighten; to frighten; to shrink away from, shun;... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | skirzijaną | to shoo, scare off |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱer- | dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth |