Related Searches
Nearby Words

grimalkin

 [gri-mal-kin, -mawl-]   Origin

gri·mal·kin

   [gri-mal-kin, -mawl-]
noun
1.
a cat.
2.
an old female cat.
3.
an ill-tempered old woman.
Origin:
1595–1605; apparently alteration of gray + malkin, diminutive of Maud proper name; see -kin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To grimalkin

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Grimalkin is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
grimalkin (ɡrɪˈmælkɪn, -ˈmɔːl-)
 
—n
1.  an old cat, esp an old female cat
2.  a crotchety or shrewish old woman
 
[C17: from grey + malkin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

grimalkin
1630, name given to a cat (cf. Shakespeare's Gray-Malkin, in "Macbeth," 1605), hence any cat, especially an old she-cat; from gray + Malkin, dim. of fem. proper name Matilda or Maud.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT