September 2, 1996

kitty-corner

Would you say that "kitty corner" from "cater-corner" meaning "placed at the diagonal" is an example of folk etymology, like "piggyback" and "bridegroom"? Do you think it's somehow mixed up with "caterwaul," which translates as "cat wailing?"

Yes, kitty-corner 'on a diagonal line; in a diagonal position' is an excellent example of a folk etymology. Folk etymology, as we remember from previous discussions about piggyback and wheelbarrow, is the process of altering an uncommon word or element to conform it to one that's better known.

The original form, as you say, was catercorner, which is still the usual term. The "cater" element in this term is from the English dialect word cater, meaning 'diagonally', which is from an obsolete word meaning 'four', which eventually goes back to quattuor, the Latin word for 'four'. This "cater" also turns up, in modified form, in the word catawampus 'crooked; askew'. The "corner" is our familiar word "corner." Since the "catercorner" form is obscure, it developed many variants, including kitty-corner, catty-corner, and others.

Catercorner is not related to caterwaul, the elements of which do mean 'cat wailing': the assumption that the "cater" in "catercorner" means 'cat' is exactly what gives rise to the folk-etymology form "kitty-corner" in the first place. The existence of a word where "cater" actually does mean 'cat' is a coincidence--one which may strengthen the folk etymology, but a coincidence nonetheless.