Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cater-cousin

/ˈkeɪtəɹˌkʌz(ə)n/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.49 in modern English

Syllables
ca-ter-cou-sin
IPA
/ˈkeɪtəɹˌkʌz(ə)n/
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who, while not being a blood relation, is regarded as close enough to be called a cousin; a (very) close or good friend; a bosom friend.

Archaic

noun

A thing which is closely associated with or related to another thing.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Apparently from cater + cousin; further etymology uncertain. The following derivations of the first element cater have been suggested: * Stephen Skinner (1623–1667) proposed a derivation from French quatre (“four”), used in place of quatrième (“fourth”) to refer to a fourth cousin. Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) agreed, saying that the term alluded to the “ridiculousness of calling cousin or relation to so remote a degree”. The Oxford English Dictionary (“OED”) states that this “seems very unlikely”. * Instead, the OED suggests that the first element is from cater (“(obsolete) provider of food”, noun) or cater (“to provide with food”, verb), with the term originally referring to people being considered as related because they were catered for or boarded together: compare companion (literally “bread-sharer”), foster father (literally “food-father”), etc. * Anatoly Liberman (born 1937) doubts both of the above, preferring a derivation from a lost North Germanic word meaning “angled; crooked; clumsy”: compare Danish kejte (“left hand”), kejtet (“awkward, clumsy”), English cater-corner (“of or pertaining to something at a diagonal to another; (Britain dialectal, obsolete) uneven, not square, as mislaid stones or people with a limping gait”), and Swedish kaitu (“left hand”). The OED says an early Scandinavian origin “seems less convincing”. The modern use of the term was popularized by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616) in his play The Merchant of Venice (written c. 1596–1598; published 1600): see the quotation.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkeɪtəɹˌkʌz(ə)n/
  • British English: /ˈkeɪtəˌkʌz(ə)n/

Usage

Inflected Forms

cater-cousins (plural) cater cousin (alternative)

Synonyms

bosom buddy intimate

Questions

How do you pronounce cater-cousin?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkeɪtəɹˌkʌz(ə)n/.
What does cater-cousin mean?
A person who, while not being a blood relation, is regarded as close enough to be called a cousin; a (very) close or good friend; a bosom friend.
Where does cater-cousin come from?
Apparently from cater + cousin; further etymology uncertain. The following derivations of the first element cater have been suggested: * Stephen Skinner (1623–1667) proposed a derivation from French quatre (“four”), used in place of quatrième (“fourth”) to refer to a fourth cousin. Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) agreed, saying that the term alluded to the “ridiculousness of calling cousin or relation to so remote a degree”. The Oxford English Dictionary (“OED”) states that this “seems very unlikely”. * Instead, the OED suggests that the first element is from cater (“(obsolete) provider of food”, noun) or cater (“to provide with food”, verb), with the term originally referring to people being considered as related because they were catered for or boarded together: compare companion (literally “bread-sharer”), foster father (literally “food-father”), etc. * Anatoly Liberman (born 1937) doubts both of the above, preferring a derivation from a lost North Germanic word meaning “angled; crooked; clumsy”: compare Danish kejte (“left hand”), kejtet (“awkward, clumsy”), English cater-corner (“of or pertaining to something at a diagonal to another; (Britain dialectal, obsolete) uneven, not square, as mislaid stones or people with a limping gait”), and Swedish kaitu (“left hand”). The OED says an early Scandinavian origin “seems less convincing”. The modern use of the term was popularized by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616) in his play The Merchant of Venice (written c. 1596–1598; published 1600): see the quotation.

How to pronounce cater-cousin

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cater-cousin”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkeɪtəɹˌkʌz(ə)n/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cater-cousin”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cater-cousin” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.