Catawampus Etymology. Of course, it’s a real word. What we covered in this session:
It may derive from the scots word wampish, meaning to “wriggle,” “twist,” or “swerve.”. We must not love the world, nor the things of the world, until the world is sanctified and prepared to be presented to the father with the saints upon it; On my way i took a squint at my wild lands along by the big muddy and little muddy to bear grass creek, and had what i call a rael { sic }, roundabout catawampus, clean through the d ee strict.
Etymology 2 Perhaps From Catamount (“Cougar, Puma, Lynx”), Influenced By The Adjective Above.
Shop buying guide books log register settings log out wordsmy words log sign hello, games quizzes thesaurus word the day features buying guide books wordsmy words view recents account. They rattled along, racing at a catawampus angle before, miraculously, the vehicle recovered itself, finding the road again. Still another sense of 'catawampus' and 'catty wampus' was common in some sections of the antebellum south.
Perhaps The First Element Of Catty Wampus With The Sense Of ‘Fierce Or Destructive’ < A Variant On The American Folk Term Catamount, An Abbreviation.
A peculiar or remarkable thing or person. Going badly, awkwardly, or in the wrong direction: (see dictionary of american slang for more), american colloquial.
First Element Perhaps From Obsolete Cater To Set Or Move Diagonally (See.
History and etymology for catawampus. Cattywampus is a curious colloquial american word doubling as meaning diagonal and askew. Catawampus also catawampous, cattywampus, catiwampus, etc.
The Etymology Is A Mongrel.
It has no specific meaning, changing to fit the circumstances. Similarly, it has been used as an adjective, noun, verb, adverb, exclamation, and proper name. Probably by folk etymology from catercorner
City Hall Is Cattywampus To The Post Office
What we covered in this session: The second element perhaps is related to scottish wampish to wriggle, twist, or swerve about. or perhaps the whole is simply the sort of jocular pseudo. Slaveowners were known to warn slaves they thought might be planning to run away that 'catawampus cats' were lurking in wait for them.