grimalkin

[ gri-mal-kin, -mawl- ]
See synonyms for grimalkin on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a cat.

  2. an old female cat.

  1. an ill-tempered old woman.

Origin of grimalkin

1
1595–1605; apparently alteration of gray1 + malkin, diminutive of Maud proper name; see -kin

Words Nearby grimalkin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grimalkin in a sentence

  • Poor grimalkin is caught with the nuts in his claws, and will have something to bear in addition to the pain of the burning!

    The Haunted Room | A. L. O. E.
  • One of the kittens, mewing plaintively, crawled to grimalkin, and thrust its minute pink nose into his side.

    Lives of the Fur Folk | M. D. Haviland
  • grimalkin often caught and ate beetles, but to-night he did not look at them, but wandered restlessly about the room.

    Lives of the Fur Folk | M. D. Haviland
  • No sooner was his back turned than grimalkin slipped across the yard and approached circumspectly.

    Lives of the Fur Folk | M. D. Haviland
  • Had it been a tom-cat who had leaped at his game, grimalkin's paw would speedily have buffeted his ears.

    Lives of the Fur Folk | M. D. Haviland

British Dictionary definitions for grimalkin

grimalkin

/ (ɡrɪˈmælkɪn, -ˈmɔːl-) /


noun
  1. an old cat, esp an old female cat

  2. a crotchety or shrewish old woman

Origin of grimalkin

1
C17: from grey + malkin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012