If you know me,
you know I love words. Specifically, I love learning about the
origins of words. I also love words that have character. Words that
just make you smile all by themselves, without needing any context at
all.
Cattywampus
is one of those words. Can't you just hear the Southern twang of
someone's Mama? You just know she's discovered her living room
all littered with kids' toys and sports equipment. Or she's trying to
help her daughter put her hair up in a do, and everything just keeps
going wrong.
Cattywampus is a
word you can savour. Go ahead, roll it around in your mouth.
Doesn't it feel rich?
Possible Etymology
The first part,
“catty,” may come from an obsolete word that means “diagonal.”
It could be related to “catty-corner,” which comes from the
Middle
English “cater-corner.” Cater- in this expression
further derives from the French quatre,
meaning “four.”
Douglas Harper, of
the Online Etymology Dictionary, tells us the second
part of cattywampus could be from a Scottish word, “wampish,”
meaning to wriggle, twist or swerve about.
Made-Up Word?
The coolest thing
about cattywampus is that it's very possibly an invented word. Harper
mentions that the current adjectival form appeared in the 1940s, when
it was simply used as an intensive. It had no specific meaning,
though the first part of the word may have been intended to sound
Greek. Victorian era Brits were very taken with Classical Antiquity,
and would have loved the idea of creating a new word that sounded as
though it had ancient origins!
Harper continues,
saying cattywampus was originally used in British lampoons of
American English; it didn’t come into its current usage after 1860.
I had to wonder if this wasn’t the result of the Americans
reclaiming the word for themselves. What a triumph to give the word a
proper meaning, and defeat the Brits who were poking fun at them by
laughing at themselves!
Adding Colour to Conversation and Prose
Whatever the
origin of cattywampus, this is a word worth tucking away for just the
right moment. You never know when it might come in handy! Whether it
be in your writing, or just to add colour to a casual conversation,
I'm sure it will impress.
So
next time something is all askew and out of order, remember that it's
cattywampus. Pull out that fine colloquialism, and see how many
eyebrows you can raise!
Note:
This article was reworked from an original work published by the
author in November 2013 on Bubblews
