Latin Cat Names: Classical Words, Roman Names, and Modern Forms, Page 8

Latin cat names need three labels before they need a ranking: classical word, Roman personal or historical form, and later name transmitted through Latin. A fourth shelf holds Greek mythic names that circulated in Roman culture but are not Latin words. Without those distinctions, an attractive list can give every candidate a tidy translation that its grammar and history do not support.

This page examines 30 database-linked calls as examples, using classical dictionaries and name-history references rather than trusting the existing one-line glosses. The full relation pool remains below for browsing. Treat its origin field as a discovery signal, not final etymological proof.

Build a lexical card before choosing a meaning

For a direct Latin word, record the lemma, part of speech, grammatical form, range of dictionary senses, period, and the particular sense chosen for the cat. An adjective may change ending for grammatical agreement; a noun may carry literal and personified uses; a modern scientific term may use Latin material without being a classical Roman name.

Logeion brings several dictionaries and corpus references together, which makes it useful for checking whether a compact English gloss hides a wider semantic range. It does not choose the household story. Keep the dictionary evidence on one side of the card and the personal reason on the other.