Editing Cat (section)

== Etymology and naming ==
The origin of the English word ''cat'', [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|catt}}, is thought to be the [[Late Latin]] word {{lang|la|cattus}}, which was first used at the beginning of the 6th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKnight |first=G. H. |title=English Words and Their Background |publisher=[[D. Appleton and Company]]|location=New York, London |date=1923 |chapter=Words and Archaeology |pages=293–311 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/englishwordsthei00mckn/page/300}}</ref> The Late Latin word may be derived from an unidentified [[Languages of Africa|African language]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Pictet |first=A. |date=1859 |title=Les origines indo-européennes ou les Aryas primitifs : essai de paléontologie linguistique |language=fr |volume=1 |location=Paris |publisher=Joël Cherbuliez |page=381}}</ref> The [[Nubian languages|Nubian]] word {{lang|nub|kaddîska}} ''wildcat'' and [[Nobiin language|Nobiin]] {{lang|nub|kadīs}} are possible sources or cognates.<ref>{{cite book |last=Keller |first=O. |date=1909 |title=Die antike Tierwelt |language=de |volume=Säugetiere |location=Leipzig |page=75 |publisher=[[Walther von Wartburg]]}}</ref>

The forms might also have derived from an ancient Germanic word that was absorbed into Latin and then into Greek, Syriac, and Arabic.<ref>{{Cite book |first=J. |last=Huehnergard |chapter=Qitta: Arabic Cats |pages=407–418 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1_qqgNTsX8C&pg=PA407 |title=Classical Arabic Humanities in Their Own Terms: Festschrift for Wolfhart Heinrichs on his 65th Birthday |date=2008 |publisher=[[Brill (publisher)|Brill]] |location=Leiden, Boston |editor1-last=Gruendler |editor1-first=B. |editor2-last=Cooperson |editor2-first=M. |isbn=9789004165731 |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=31 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331062414/https://books.google.com/books?id=n1_qqgNTsX8C&pg=PA407 |url-status=live}}</ref> The word may be derived from Germanic and Northern European languages, and ultimately be borrowed from [[Uralic languages|Uralic]], {{Cf.}}[[Northern Sámi]] {{lang|se|gáđfi}}, ''female [[stoat]]'', and [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] {{lang|hu|hölgy}}, ''lady, female stoat''; from [[Proto-Uralic language|Proto-Uralic]] {{Lang|mis|*käďwä}}, ''female (of a furred animal)''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kroonen |first1=G. |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic |date=2013 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |location=Leiden, Netherlands |isbn=9789004183407 |page=281f}}</ref>

The English ''[[wikt:puss#English|puss]]'', extended as ''pussy'' and ''pussycat'', is attested from the 16th century and may have been introduced from [[Dutch language|Dutch]] {{lang|nl|poes}} or from [[Low German]] {{lang|nds|puuskatte}}, related to [[Swedish language|Swedish]] {{lang|sv|kattepus}}, or [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] {{lang|no|pus}}, {{lang|no|pusekatt}}. Similar forms exist in [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] {{lang|lt|puižė}} and [[Irish language|Irish]] {{lang|ga|puisín}} or {{lang|ga|puiscín}}. The etymology is unknown, but it may be an [[onomatopoeia]] from using a sound to attract a cat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/155147#eid27609702 |title=Puss |work=The Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903215025/http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/155147#eid27609702 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Gramercy Unabridged">{{Cite book |title=Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language |chapter=puss |location=New York |publisher=[[Random House|Gramercy (Random House)]] |date=1996 |page=1571}}</ref>

A male cat is called a ''tom'' or ''tomcat''<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/203100#eid18281825 |title=tom cat, tom-cat |work=The Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=1 October 2012 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> (or a ''gib'',<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/78103?rskey=Z7UU0G&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid |title=gib, n.2 |work=The Oxford English Dictionary |access-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180918111545/http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/78103?rskey=Z7UU0G&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid |archive-date=18 September 2018 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> if [[Neutering|neutered]]). A female is called a ''queen''.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/156212?rskey=c2khr1&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid27437294 |title=queen cat |work=The Oxford English Dictionary |access-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150903215025/http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/156212?rskey=c2khr1&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid27437294 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Some sources write that ''queen'' refers solely to unspayed cats that are in an [[estrous cycle]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grosskopf |first=Shane |date=23 June 2022 |title=What is a Female Cat Called? A Guide to the Fascinating Terms |url=https://spotpet.com/blog/cat-tips/what-is-a-female-cat-called |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411035905/https://spotpet.com/blog/cat-tips/what-is-a-female-cat-called |archive-date=11 April 2024 |access-date=1 May 2024 |website=Spot Pet Insurance}} {{Cite web |last=Scamporrino |first=Christina |date=12 December 2018 |title=Cat Parenting 101: Special Considerations for Your Female Cat |url=https://www.prettylitter.com/blog/cat-parenting-101-special-considerations-for-your-female-cat |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001160548/https://www.prettylitter.com/blog/cat-parenting-101-special-considerations-for-your-female-cat |archive-date=1 October 2023 |access-date=1 May 2024 |website=PrettyLitter}}</ref> (or sometimes a ''molly'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 March 2020 |title=7 fascinating facts about female cats |url=https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/7-facts-about-female-cats |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216143959/https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/7-facts-about-female-cats |archive-date=16 December 2023 |access-date=30 April 2024 |website=Cats Protection |language=en}}</ref> if [[Spaying|spayed]]). A juvenile cat is referred to as a ''[[kitten]]'', a term interchangeable with the now-obsolete word ''catling'' in [[Early Modern English]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/28995?redirectedFrom=catling#eid |title=catling |work=The Oxford English Dictionary |access-date=1 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150903215025/http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/28995?redirectedFrom=catling#eid |archive-date=3 September 2015 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> A group of cats can be referred to as a ''clowder'', a ''glaring'',<ref>{{cite web |url= http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/what-do-you-call-a-group-of |title=What do you call a group of&nbsp;...? |work=[[Oxford Dictionaries Online]] |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=1 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012112007/http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/what-do-you-call-a-group-of |archive-date=12 October 2012}}</ref> or a ''colony''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Terms we use for cats |url=https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/terms-we-use-cats |website=The Humane Society of the United States |access-date=2 August 2024}}</ref>