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2 gru 2017 · It first appeared as a noun (catawampus) in Dickens’ Martin Chuzzlewit (1843), though it probably was first recorded as a noun in American works shortly before that. In that sense, it suggested some sort of hobgoblin or other frightening fantastical creature, likely influenced by “catamount,” another word for a cougar or other large cat ...
24 paź 2016 · Catawampous, or catawamptious, a word enlarged in the West from catamount. This animal had already furnished the hunter with the expression, "he dropped on him like a catamount on a coon," and hence, no doubt, the further development of the word.
Bronze statue of the six-legged Wampus Cat located at Conway High School. The Wampus cat is a cat -like creature in American folklore that varies widely in appearance, ranging from frightful to comical, depending on region.
13 lis 2022 · Middle English shrine "repository in which a holy object or the relics of a saint are kept," from late Old English scrin "ark (of the covenant); chest, coffer; case for relics," from Latin scrinium "case or box for keeping papers," a word of unknown origin.
14 cze 2021 · Catawampus is a protean, nonsense word. It has no specific meaning, changing to fit the circumstances. Over the years it has meant askew, total or totally, excessive or excessively, ill-tempered, a fanciful creature, and so on. Similarly, it has been used as an adjective, noun, verb, adverb, exclamation, and proper name.
The earliest known use of the noun catawampus is in the 1840s. OED's earliest evidence for catawampus is from 1843, in the writing of ‘Robert Carlton’ (real name Baynard Rush Hall).
18 lip 2022 · What's the origin of Catawampus? The expression’s initial meaning “askew, diagonal,” was first recorded in the mid-19th century. It is believed to be an American colloquial term, influenced by another expression “cater- in cater-cornered” (or “kitty-corner”) and “wampish”, a Scottish word for “flopping about.”.
