grimalkin
[ gri-mal-kin, -mawl- ]
/ grɪˈmæl kɪn, -ˈmɔl- /
noun
a cat.
an old female cat.
an ill-tempered old woman.
Nearby words
grimace, grimaldi, grimaldi man, grimaldi, joseph, grimaldian, grimalkin, grime, grimes golden, grimes graves, grimhild, grimké
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for grimalkin
British Dictionary definitions for grimalkin
grimalkin
/ (ɡrɪˈmælkɪn, -ˈmɔːl-) /
noun
an old cat, esp an old female cat
a crotchety or shrewish old woman
Word Origin for grimalkin
C17: from grey + malkin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for grimalkin
grimalkin
1620s, name given to a cat (cf. Shakespeare's Gray-Malkin, in "Macbeth," 1605), hence any cat, especially an old she-cat; from gray + Malkin, diminutive of fem. proper name Matilda or Maud.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper