*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of catto

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kattuz Proto-West Germanic *kattu Old English catt Middle English cat English cat Latin ō Old French ohbor. Middle English o English O ▲ Middle English o English oh English -o English catto

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A cat.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kattuz Proto-West Germanic *kattu Old English catt Middle English cat English cat Latin ō Old French ohbor. Middle English o English O ▲ Middle English o English oh English -o English catto From cat + -o.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "cat",
        "4": "-o",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *kattuz\nProto-West Germanic *kattu\nOld English catt\nMiddle English cat\nEnglish cat\nLatin ō\nOld French ohbor.\nMiddle English o\nEnglish O\n▲\nMiddle English o\nEnglish oh\nEnglish -o\nEnglish catto\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*kattu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"catt\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"cat\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"cat\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"vocative\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"oh\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"vocative\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"ō\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"oh\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"o\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"O\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"id\" : \"surprise\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"id\" : \"oh\", \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"enm\", \"2\" : \":bor\", \"3\" : \"fro:oh<ety:inh<la:ō<id:vocative>>>\", \"id\" : \"oh\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"o\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"oh\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-o\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"catto\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"catto\">\nFrom cat + -o."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "cat",
        "4": "-o",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *kattuz\nProto-West Germanic *kattu\nOld English catt\nMiddle English cat\nEnglish cat\nLatin ō\nOld French ohbor.\nMiddle English o\nEnglish O\n▲\nMiddle English o\nEnglish oh\nEnglish -o\nEnglish catto\nFrom cat + -o."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*kattuz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kattuz"
    ],
    [
      "*kattu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kattu"
    ],
    [
      "catt",
      "catt#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "cat",
      "cat#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cat",
      "cat#English"
    ],
    [
      "ō",
      "o#Latin:_vocative"
    ],
    [
      "oh",
      "oh#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "o",
      "o#Middle_English:_oh"
    ],
    [
      "O",
      "O#English:_vocative"
    ],
    [
      "o",
      "o#Middle_English:_oh"
    ],
    [
      "oh",
      "oh#English:_surprise"
    ],
    [
      "-o",
      "-o#English"
    ],
    [
      "cat",
      "cat#English"
    ],
    [
      "-o",
      "-o#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A cat."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "b772e78dc83e65076cd40ad88cc24847c5d3604b45ae46d15ac24b2eb0dba856",
      "rawRecordSha256": "5874128ccfcfe3011eeb5e34e7492480dccd65ce27766324b66a2db70f400f0b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 790750
    }
  ],
  "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 catto →

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-Y2F0dG8