catty-corner
ɪˌkɔr adjective
1.
adverb
2.
00:10
Catty-corner
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Origin:
1830–40; dial. cater (adv.) diagonally (probably to be identified with obsolete cater four < Middle French quatre < Latin quattuor) + cornered
1830–40; dial. cater (adv.) diagonally (probably to be identified with obsolete cater four < Middle French quatre < Latin quattuor) + cornered
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Also, cat·ty-cor·ner.
Origin:
1830–40, Americanism
1830–40, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To catty-corner
Collins
World English Dictionary
cater-cornered (ˈkætəˌkɔːnəd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj, —adv | |
| informal (US), (Canadian) catty-cornered, Also: kitty-cornered diagonally placed; diagonal | |
| [C16 cater, from dialect cater (adv) diagonally, from obsolete cater (n) four-spot of dice, from Old French quatre four, from Latin quattuor] | |
| catty-cornered | |
| —adj | |
| a variant of cater-cornered | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
catty-cornered
1838, from now-obsolete cater "to set or move diagonally" (1577), from M.Fr. catre "four," from L. quattuor (see four).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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