qattus

Maltese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from dialectal Maghrebi Arabic (compare Tunisian Arabic قَطُّوس (qaṭṭūs), Libyan Arabic قَطُّوس (gaṭṭūs)), from a Berber language, probably from Latin cattus (compare Maltese fellus, a Berber word from Latin pullus, though there are apparently Nubian words for cat that might also explain the -s in qattus).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʔatˈtuːs/
  • Audio (Gozo):(file)
  • Rhymes: -uːs

Noun

qattus m (plural qtates, feminine qattusa, diminutive qtajtes)

  1. cat (male, domestic species)
  2. euphemistic form of qaddis: one's way of thinking (originally one's saint, patron)

Derived terms

  • qattus il-baħar (“catfish”)
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