catercorner

[Donald M Lance]

DARE has a full column on this term.  Lots of variants with some regional
distributions.

AHD3's etymology has 'cater' as the original form, a Middle English form
based on the French 'catre' referring to the diagonal of four corners.

Building that are kitty-corner (the form I use) from each other are across
the intersection rather than across the street from each other.  I've heard
people use the term to refer to buildings that are across and a little way
down a street from each other, so that a jaywalker would have to take a
diagonal path to cross from one to the other.

DMLance

on 7/22/02 10:52 PM, Millie Webb at millie-webb at CHARTER.NET wrote:

> Millie Webb <millie-webb at CHARTER.NET> writes:
>
>> I picked "kitty corner" (kiddy corner, catty corner, cater corner,
>> qater corner, etc.).
> ~~~~~~
> I have often seen /cater corner/ in writing, but I have never heard
> anyone say anything but"katty-corner" or "kitty-corner."  Who says " cater
> corner"  and how is it pronounced? Long _ a_ or short?
> A. Murie
>
> ------------------------
>
> I have seen "lay people" write it (and trust me, you don't see it written
> often by chance) "kitty corner", "kiddy corner", "catty corner", "cater
> corner" and "qater corner" (though this latter was in a HUGE, old, red
> dictionary that I seem to recall was an American Heritage Dictionary).  I have
> heard it "kiddy corner", "kitty corner" (which both sound virtually identical
> due to the "alveolar flap" that is a combination of "d" and "t"), "catty
> corner", "cat's corner" and "cater corner" (or "kater", if you prefer I spell
> it that way, but I assume the person would have spelled it with a "c",
> thinking it was from "cat").  Almost everyone I asked about it assumed it came
> from the word "cat" in some way.  The more "formal" written etymologies I have
> seen claim it came from "qater", as in "four", and I did not run into any "lay
> people" who agreed they "would have guessed that, but just hadn't thought
> about it much".  Oops, one more: "king's corner", I have heard too.  I assume
> because of the children's card game.
>
> Still Me, Millie
>