cat < ?

[Kastytis Beitas]

I can propose other possible origin for some 'non-cat' cat words.
I think it is a rather frequent case when predatory animal is named
according its prey.
For example, in Lithuanian:
peleda "owl"                   <--  pele "mous" + eda "to eat",
zhuvedra "tern on gull"  <--  zhuvis 'fish' + eda "to eat" (or edrus
"voracious")
In English:
polecat or polcat at 1320 "ferret" <-- Old French poule, pol "fowl, hen" + cat

It is semantically plausible that rodents names can be transformed to mouse
hunter's (cat's or some Mustellidae mammal's) name.
Similarity of motivation of these predator naming is seen in English
polecat "ferret; Mustella putorius".
And names of small rodents (and sometimes of shrew though shrew isn't a
rodent but is similar to mice) are related to words with meanings "to make
a hole; to peck etc". For example, Lithuanian kirstukas "shrew" <-- kirsti
"to hack, to cut" or English shrew (etymology unknown?) and to shred.
This relation is based on holes that are made by mices in pelts, clothes
etc. or shredding or chapping straw or similar material to small litter...
The part of semantic niche net is similar to this:

"cat" "marten" <-- "mouse"
                                   A
                                    |
  "to peck; to make hole; to hit etc" --> "to beat to pulp"
                             |
|
                            V
V
"to smash to parts, to make small"     "pulp; gruel etc; material of
similar consistence"

For example:
1. Latin  feles 'cat' reminds of Lithuanian pele 'mouse'. In Watkins
Dictionary of Indo-European Roots pel- means "to thrust, to strike".

>I suppose Hindi bhili "cat" would be too fortuitous to suggest a connection
>based on *bhil-, *bhel-?

2. Hindi bhili 'cat' <-> Russian bilo 'thing for beating', Eng. beat etc.
(maybe this bhili is cognate to Lithuanian pele)

> >In Latin, it is the ferret that gets the job of mouser by
> >name, <mustЙla> or <mustella>, indicating maybe that cats were not that
> >common early on.

3. So mustella 'marten' <-> Latin mus, English mouse, German Maus, Polish
mysz, Russian mysh'

Chernykh in his 'Historically-Etymological Dictionary of Modern Russian
Language' writes that Latin mus, Polish mysz, Russian mysh' may be origined
from IE word with meanings "plunderer, spoiler". Chernykh states that mus
and mysh' are cognates with Russian mukha 'fly' /and Latin musca 'fly'/.
This comparison of mouse anf fly supports my hypothesis, because other
possible meaning for 'fly-words' is a "bitter; one who bites". This fits to
"bee-words" too: in Lithuanian bite "bee" etc. Armenian muk 'mouse' is
similar to Russian muka "flour; what is grinded' and Russian muka
"suffering"...

English mouse and German Maus are similar to Russian musor "debris;
litter". Chernykh states that musor is cognate with Russian musolit'
"slabber, slaver" and both them are originated from IE *meu-, *mou- "damp,
moist" and "liquid dirt; mud". But this cognateness is between musor and
mud, moist is more distant in my opinion: musor is originated as "litter,
produced by chapping (or by mice?)"...

>Someone, maybe Partridge 1958, links feles to Latin meles "badger"

4. Latin meles "badger" <-> words with meanings 'to grind; to transfor to
small parts'
English mill
Lithuanian male is past tense verb with meaning 'grind, mill' (but
Lithuanian meleta means a few species of woodpecker)
Russian melet 'to mill (present tense)', molot 'hammer'

> >Gr <kassuo:>, Att. <kattuo:>, to sew, to stitch together like a shoemaker.
> ><kattus>, a piece of leather (or animal skin.)  <katateino:>, stretch, draw
> >tigth, especially a cord or strip of animal skin.  Perhaps this is somehow
> >the source of "catgut", for which I haven't seen a decent explanation.
> >(Attested is a Persian or Babylonian fur prepared from mouse skins,
> ><gaunacum> or <kaunakЙ>, so anything was possible.)

So there is some basis to state that this all-Indo-European word cat in all
its variations may by descendant of some Indo-European root with meaning
"to hit, to strike, to make hole etc". Distant cognate of this hypothetical
(?) root may be Watkins's kat- "to fight" and kat- "down".

May be distant relatives of this are Lithuanian kietas and Latvian ciets
"hard (vs. soft)".

Or cut in Chambers Dictionary of Etymology:
,,Probably before 1300 either as: cutten <...>, kitten <...>; of uncertain
orrigin (possibly borrowed from  Scandinavian source; compare Swedish
dialect kuta, kata "to cut", kuta "knife", and Icelandic kuti "knife". ''

This excerpt from Chambers Dict.of Etym. reminds on my old posting (Lith.
peilis "knife" <-> Lith. pele "mous"):

 >The similar case is with Lithuanian "peilis" 'knife'. It is similar to
 >Russian "pila" 'saw', Lat. "pilum" 'heavy javelin, pestle', OHG "pfil"
'>arrow, stake'.
 >In this context OE "pil" 'stake, shaft, spike' and Eng "pile" 'arrow, dart'
 >may be not borrowings as it is stated in Chambers Dict. of Etym. ( p.794)]
 >but words of common Indo-European origin.

So distant relativeof English cat or Lithuanian kate "male cat" or Russian
kot "male cat" may be English kettle, Lithuanian katilas "kettle":
In Chambers Dict.of Etym.:

,,kettle -- <...> borrowed directly from Latin catillus "small bowl, dish
or plate", diminutive of catinus "bowl, dish, pot"; perhaps cognate with
Greek kotyle "small vessel, cup" <...>. ''

Hypothetical chain of semantic changes from kettle to cat:
cat "hunter of mouse" <-> ?? "who makes holes" <-> "to strike" <-> "to
hollow out" <-> "vessel, plate, cup, made by hollowing" <-> "kettle".

**********************************
Kastytis Beitas
----------------------------------
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Faculty of Natural Sciences
Vilnius University
Ciurlionio 21
Vilnius 2009, Lithuania
----------------------------------
Fax:     (370 2)235409
E-Mail:  kastytis.beitas at gf.vu.lt
**********************************