grimalkin

noun

gri·mal·kin | \ gri-ˈmȯ(l)-kən

How to pronounce grimalkin (audio)

, -ˈmal-

How to pronounce grimalkin (audio)

\

Definition of grimalkin

: a domestic cat especially : an old female cat

Did You Know?

In the opening scene of Macbeth, one of the three witches planning to meet with Macbeth suddenly announces, "I come, Graymalkin." The witch is responding to the summons of her familiar, or guardian spirit, which is embodied in the form of a cat. Shakespeare's "graymalkin" literally means "gray cat." The "gray" is of course the color; the "malkin" was a nickname for Matilda or Maud that came to be used in dialect as a general name for a cat (and sometimes a hare). By the 1630s, "graymalkin" had been altered to the modern spelling "grimalkin."

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about grimalkin

Listen to Our Podcast about grimalkin

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries near grimalkin

Statistics for grimalkin

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for grimalkin

The first known use of grimalkin was in 1630

See more words from the same year

Comments on grimalkin

What made you want to look up grimalkin? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

whinge

to complain fretfully

Test Your Vocabulary

What's that Smell?! Quiz

Someone who is hircine smells like a:

dog goat
frog horse

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ