gatta

See also: Gatta

English

Noun

gatta (plural gattas)

1. (South Africa, slang) A police officer.
   • 2005, Al Lovejoy, Acid Alex, Zebra Press, published 2005, →ISBN, page 167:

     They went into the pub and started a fight. One that was just bad enough for someone to call the boere. When the gattas arrived they got donnered for their trouble.

Afrikaans

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈχa.ta/

Noun

gatta (plural gattas)

1. (Cape Afrikaans) police officer, cop

Italian

Etymology

From Late Latin catta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡat.ta/
• Rhymes: -atta
• Hyphenation: gàt‧ta

Noun

gatta f (plural gatte, masculine gatto)

1. queen (female cat), she-cat
2. sex kitten

Derived terms

• gatta ci cova
• gatta da pelare
• gattamorta
• gattino
• gattina
• la gatta frettolosa fece i gattini ciechi
• tanto va la gatta al lardo, che ci lascia lo zampino

Related terms

• gatto

Sicilian

Alternative forms

• 'atta (apheretic variant)
• jatta (semiconsonant variant)
• atta, iatta (eye dialect, non-orthographic)

Etymology

From the sonorization of Late Latin catta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔat.ta/ (guttural pronunciation, mostly western)
• IPA^(key): /ˈjat.ta/ (semiconsonant pronunciation, mostly eastern)
• Hyphenation: gàt‧ta

Noun

gatta f (plural gatti)

1. A cat, regardless of whether male or female.
   1. A female cat.
   2. A domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet.

      Synonyms: gattuzza, gattareḍḍa; see also Thesaurus:gatta

Usage notes

• Unlike Italian, in Sicilian the generic name for the Felis catus species is inflected in the feminine, just as in Italian the male tiger still comes out with the feminine gender la tigre (cfr. also Sicilian a trighi).

Coordinate terms

• gattu

Derived terms

• gattara
• gattareḍḍa
• gattuzza
• sauta a gatta

 

Related terms

• cani
• surci

 

See also

• gaḍḍina
• gaḍḍu
• vurpi