Cats appear to have first entered into a domesticated relationship with humans about 9500 BCE. The close association between cats and humans can be seen in a number of cat-related expressions in English.
Cat got your tongue?
This is one of those English expressions that makes no logical sense. While it is unrealistic to assume that it comes from any actual incidence of a cat actually stealing someone’s tongue, there are a couple of interesting hypotheses about its origins.
There was a time in the history of English-speaking people when individuals would be whipped for committing some offence. The whip used for this would be the cat-o-nine-tails which would inflict serious and painful wounds upon the back. Facing this painful punishment, a person might be rendered speechless, prompting the observation that the “cat had his tongue.”
Another possibility, and one which might be more realistic, is that the expression actually comes from the question “Do you have a cat’s tongue?” Since cats are known to sit quietly for many hours observing the world and grooming, the suggestion here is that the person doesn’t say much.
While both of these possibilities make it seem like the expression “cat got your tongue” must somehow be an old English expression, its first recorded use in English only dates to 1911. Some etymologists have classified this as a “domestic” expression, meaning that it comes from household English rather than literary English. They indicate that it comes from speaking to a child who refuses to answer questions.
A Cat Has 9 Lives:
Those of us who have shared household space with cats often observe their resiliency, agility, stealth, and grace. Cats have been known to survive all kinds of disasters—fires, hurricanes, floods, and government shutdowns. Historically, the idea of a cat having nine lives was first recorded in a book of proverbs compiled by the British playwright John Heywood in 1546: “a woman has nine lives, like the cat.” The idea is expressed again by the playwright William Shakespeare in his 1591 play Romeo and Juliet.
Some of Heywood’s other sayings were:
“Out of sight, out of mind”
“Beggars should be no choosers.”
“A penny for your thought”
“The more the merrier.”
Curiosity Killed the Cat:
It is not clear where the expression “curiosity killed the cat” came from, but it seems to have first taken root in American English in 1910. As an expression, it has been used to stop children from inquiring too closely into things that adults want to keep secret (like maybe sex or money?). Yet, curiosity is one of the key features of being human and it is a critical ingredient for education, creativity, and innovation.
The expression probably comes from the fact that humans have observed that cats seem to have unlimited curiosity which often takes them into strange places, like empty boxes, garages, car engines, closets—all of these are ones that the cats I have lived with have unexpectedly explored. The idea is that somehow a cat can get into someplace from which they cannot escape, and die.
Kitty-corner, Catty-corner:
Both of these expressions mean the same thing: to be in diagonal relation. The expression doesn’t really have anything to do with cats and did not originate with cats. The term “catty” actually has its origins in the French “quatre” meaning “four.” In the 1500s, “quatre” came into English as “cater” and was used to indicate the four of dice or cards. The placement of the four dots introduced the idea of diagonals. From this came the verb “to cater” meaning “to place something diagonally opposite or to move diagonally.”
In the nineteenth century, American English began to use the expression “cater-cornered.” American English speakers had no idea that “cater” had French origins and assumed that it had something to do with cats. American pronunciation then changed “cater-corner” into “catty-corner” which then morphed into “kitty-corner.”
One of the interesting off-shoots of “catty-corner” is the American word “catawampus” meaning “askew, aslant, out of square.” The origin of “wampus” is mysterious and appears to be unknown.