qattus

Maltese

Alternative forms

• qaddis

Etymology

Inherited from dialectal Maghrebi Arabic (compare Tunisian Arabic قَطُّوس (qaṭṭūs), Libyan Arabic قَطُّوس (gaṭṭūs)), from a Berber (cf. Awjila aqəṭṭùš (“cat”), Nefusa aqaṭṭus (“cat”), and Ghadames akaṭṭus (“cat”)), 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”)

Related terms

• ferħ
• pejxu