cater-cornered

[ kat-i-kawr-nerd, kat-ee-, kat-er- ]
See synonyms for cater-cornered on Thesaurus.com
adjective
adverb
  1. diagonally.

Origin of cater-cornered

1
First recorded in 1830–40; dialectal cater (adverb) diagonally (probably to be identified with obsolete cater “four,” from Middle French, quatre, from Latin quattuor ) + cornered
  • Also cat·er·cor·ner, cat·er-cor·ner, cat·ty-cor·ner, cat·ty-cor·nered, kit·ty-cor·ner, kit·ty-cor·nered .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cater-cornered in a sentence

  • He had his head down, his mouth open, and he walked catercorner, roaring like one of the bulls of Bashan.

    In Pastures Green | Peter McArthur

British Dictionary definitions for cater-cornered

cater-cornered

/ (ˈkætəˌkɔːnəd) /


adjective, adverb
  1. US and Canadian informal diagonally placed; diagonal: Also: catty-cornered, kitty-cornered

Origin of cater-cornered

1
C16 cater, from dialect cater (adv) diagonally, from obsolete cater (n) four-spot of dice, from Old French quatre four, from Latin quattuor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012