Cats & Language

 

"Cat" in another language is still a cat!

 Spanish
"catálogo"

French
"chat"

Latin
"felida(e)"

Spanish/Portuguese
"gato"

Portuguese for "tomcat"
"gattaff"

Italian
"gatto"

Yiddish
"katalog"

 Esperanto
"kato"

German
"katze"

Turkish
"kedi"

Russian
"koshka"

Chinese
"mao"

Japanese
"neko"

Russian
"olena"

 Swahili
"paka"

Icelandic
"kottur"

Saudi Arabian
"biss"

Ugandan
"paka"

Polish
"kot"

Romanian
"pisca"

 Swedish
"katt"

 Korean
"ko-yang-i"

 Armenian
"katu"

 Hungarian
"cica"

 Hebrew
KHaTooL' (male) or KHa'TooLaH' (female)

      
             

 

Clowder of cats

"Clowder" is the correct term for a group of cats. It is an old word for "clutter," an apt name for a gathering of cats that has, perhaps, overrun a farm in response to a plague of mice or rats.

A group of kittens or young cats had a special name: they were called a "kyndyll," or "kindle," of kittens. This is based on the old definition of the verb "to kindle," which described it as "bringing forth" or "giving birth to young." So a kyndyll of cats was simply a group of felines that had, not so long ago, been brought into the world.