*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Mau

From mȧu, the rendering of Egyptian mjw (“cat”) in Karl Richard Lepsius’s 19th-century transcription system.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A kind of short-haired domestic cat.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From mȧu, the rendering of Egyptian mjw (“cat”) in Karl Richard Lepsius’s 19th-century transcription system.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionmjwegy
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "egy",
        "3": "mjw",
        "4": "",
        "5": "cat"
      },
      "expansion": "Egyptian mjw (“cat”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "mjw",
      "mjw#Egyptian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A kind of short-haired domestic cat."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "abc2256e9fe20317e67e38d8a409fdd48f89986a9d80dc1e624a079bb0b3c885",
      "rawRecordSha256": "faf63589e31d894d2e4cb05ffac9d442092add00258a9e3e43a2d7697ed7da93",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5598777
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A city and district of Azamgarh division, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Hindi मऊ (maū).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {},
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi",
        "3": "मऊ"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Hindi मऊ (maū)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "मऊ",
      "मऊ#Hindi"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A city and district of Azamgarh division, Uttar Pradesh, India."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "1355c3d918711705021d8afb0caed736d490e596d0630fdca2a2dd6840181fe1",
      "rawRecordSha256": "bf4d7a0476b411baf503a039aae2b78d0a0bb002de234527d8ba3b0af2404e15",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5598778
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Mau →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TWF1