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Grimalkin

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(Redirected from Greymalkin) Term for a cat For other uses, see Grimalkin (disambiguation).
Louis Le Breton's illustration of a grimalkin from the Dictionnaire Infernal

A grimalkin, also known as a greymalkin, is an archaic term for a cat. The term stems from "grey" (the colour) plus "malkin", an archaic term with several meanings (a low class woman, a weakling, a mop, or a name) derived from a hypocoristic form of the female name Maud. Scottish legend makes reference to the grimalkin as a faery cat that dwells in the highlands.

During the early modern period, the name grimalkin – and cats in general – became associated with the devil and witchcraft. Women tried as witches in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries were often accused of having a familiar, frequently a grimalkin.

See also

References

  1. "grimalkin, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, Web. 16 June 2015
  2. "malkin, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2014. Web. 27 October 2014.

External links

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