Georgian · word · adjective, adverb, noun
Catawampus
kat-uh-WOM-pus /ˌkæt əˈwɒm pəs/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recordedby 1834
An American comic word that first meant fierce or utterly (1830s–40s); from the 1860s it came to mean askew, awry or crooked, and later diagonal (like kitty-corner). It could also name an imaginary fierce creature.
Where it was first recorded
Dated by Etymonline (as the adverb 'catawampusly'), which does not name the work.
Also spelled: cattywampus, catawampous, catawamptious, kittywampus
In its own time
There air some catawampous chawers in the small way too, as graze upon a human pretty strong
Today
Modern exampleAfter the move, every picture in the flat was hanging cattywampus.
Fine to use, especially in American English, for something crooked or out of line.
Questions
What does catawampus mean?
An American comic word that first meant fierce or utterly (1830s–40s); from the 1860s it came to mean askew, awry or crooked, and later diagonal (like kitty-corner). It could also name an imaginary fierce creature.
When was catawampus first used?
It is first recorded by 1834.
Can you still use catawampus today?
Fine to use, especially in American English, for something crooked or out of line.
Sources
- catawampus — Online Etymology Dictionary
- catawampus, adj. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
- catawampus — Wiktionary
- catawampus — Merriam-Webster
- catawampus — Dictionary.com (Random House)
- Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens — Project Gutenberg eBook #968
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above