baudrons

noun

bau·drons

ˈba-drənz,

-t͟hrənz

plural -es

chiefly Scottish

: cat, puss, kitty

and baudrons was watching a rathole

Word History

Etymology

Middle Scots bawdronis, of uncertain origin

Note: The word first occurs in "The Twa Mice," a version of the Aesopian fable of the city mouse and country mouse by Robert Henryson, written perhaps in the 1480's. The comparisons with Irish and Scottish Gaelic words adduced in the Oxford English Dictionary (1st edition) are remote both semantically and formally. The Scottish National Dictionary's suggestion that the word is compounded of bawd "hare" (unattested before the 19th century) and ron, supposedly imitative of a cat's purring, seems extremely improbable. The uncommon Middle English word badde, "cat (domestic or wild)," is perhaps relevant, though the final element of baudrons, if it is a compound, remains obscure.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of baudrons was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century