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Possibly a compound of Lucifer(“Lucifer; The Devil”) + katt(“cat”), later folk etymologicallusse-(“St. Lucy's Day”) + katt(“cat”). Compare with synonym dövelskatt(literally “devil-cat”). From the medieval Germanic belief that the Devil went around in the shape of a cat to punish children. The saffron-golden and sun-shaped bun was then given to well-behaved children as a form of warding.[1][2] First attested in 1898[3].
^ “Lucka 14: Varför heter det lussekatt?”, in Språkkonsulterna (in Swedish), 2016 December 14: “Faktum är att förledet lusse- kanske inte har något med lucia att göra heller. Det är möjligt att det kommer från Lucifer, alltså djävulen. ― The fact is that the prefix "lusse-" might not have anything to do with Lucia either. It is possible that it comes from Lucifer, meaning the devil.”
^ “Det julas för lussekatten”, in Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore (in Swedish), 2022 November 13: “I äldre tid kallades lussekatten i de västra delarna av Sverige för dövelskatt eller dyvelskatt, alltså ’djävulskatt’. Det kan möjligen kopplas till en tysk tradition där Christkindlein eller Kinken Jes (Jesusbarnet) i juletid delar ut duiveskater (bullar) till snälla barn. ― In earlier times, the lussekatt in the western parts of Sweden was called dövelskatt or dyvelskatt, meaning "devil's cat." This may possibly be linked to a German tradition where Christkindlein or Kinken Jes (the Christ Child) distributes duiveskater (buns) to well-behaved children during Christmas.”
