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grimalkin

 - 3 dictionary results

gri⋅mal⋅kin

  [gri-mal-kin, -mawl-]
Use grimalkin in a Sentence
–noun
1. a cat.
2. an old female cat.
3. an ill-tempered old woman.
Origin:
1595–1605; appar. alter. of gray + malkin, dim. of Maud proper name; see -kin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To grimalkin
gri·mal·kin   (grĭ-môl'kĭn, -māl'-)   
n.  

  1. A cat, especially an old female cat.

  2. An old woman considered to be ill-tempered.


[Variant of graymalkin : gray1 + obsolete malkin, lower-class woman; see merkin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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