As long as we're talking word derivations. . . .  There's a folk tale/ghost
story connected to the site I'm working on.  It involves a huge mythical
creature called the "Wampus Cat."  When I first heard this tale, I
immediately thought that this much be a clever reworking of the term
"katti-wampus," and when I shared this thought with some "locals" (since
"I'm not from around here") they informed me that they had never heard of
"katti-wampus" - that I was just making up a word.  In my childhood home
"katti wampus" meant askew, and was related to Katti-cornered (or
Catti-cornered, or Cater-cornered)  which can be found in a decent
dictionary.  However, I have been unable to find "katti-wampus" in any of
the dictionaries at hand.  So my question is: does anyone else use this
term, and does anyone know its derivation, especially the "wampus" part?


Linda Derry ( [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> )
Old Cahawba Archaeological Park
Alabama Historical Commission