貓

貓 (Kangxi radical 153, 豸+8, 15 strokes, cangjie input 月竹廿田 (BHTW), four-corner 4426₀, composition ⿰豸苗)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1202, character 30
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 36595
• Dae Jaweon: page 1664, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3914, character 4
• Unihan data for U+8C93

Historical forms of the character 貓
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *mreːw, *mrew) : semantic 豸 + phonetic 苗 (OC *mrew). The phonetic component perhaps points to the onomatopoeic nature of this word.

Ma Xulun suggested that 豸 was the original character of 貓.

Onomatopoeic. Compare 喵 (miāo, “meow, the onomatopoeic cry of a cat”).

Schuessler (2007) minimally reconstructs Old Chinese *mau, reasoning that 貓's place among division II syllables results from its onomatopoeic nature instead of an Old Chinese medial *-r-; onomatopoeia is also responsible for the 陰平／阴平 (yīnpíng) tone instead of the expected 陽平／阳平 (yángpíng).

貓

2. cat (Classifier: 隻／只 m c)

   • 迎貓，為其食田鼠也；迎虎，為其食田豕也，迎而祭之也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     迎猫，为其食田鼠也；迎虎，为其食田豕也，迎而祭之也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Yíng māo, wèi qí shí tiánshǔ yě; yíng hǔ, wèi qí shí tián shǐ yě, yíng ér jì zhī yě.

     They met the cats, because they devoured the rats and mice of the fields, and the tigers, because they devoured the wild boars. They met them and made offerings to them.

   • 據英國《每日郵報》5月9日報導，不久前，意大利海關在從中國運過來的集裝箱裡發現一隻小橘貓。 [MSC, trad.]
     据英国《每日邮报》5月9日报导，不久前，意大利海关在从中国运过来的集装箱里发现一只小橘猫。 [MSC, simp.]

     From:

     2019, “中国小猫被困在集装箱 “漂流”40多天到意大利”, in sina‎:

     Jù Yīngguó “Měirì Yóubào” 5 yuè 9 rì bàodǎo, bùjiǔqián, Yìdàlì hǎiguān zài cóng zhōngguó yùnguòlái de jízhuāngxiānglǐ fāxiàn yī zhī xiǎo júmāo.

     According to a report by the British Daily Mail on May 9, Italian customs recently found a small orange cat in a container shipped from China.

3. (Mandarin, colloquial) to hide oneself
4. (Mandarin, colloquial) to hang around; to stay somewhere doing nothing
5. (Cantonese) to get drunk
6. (Hokkien) pockmarked (face)

   貓面／猫面 [Hokkien]  ―  niau-bīn [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  pockmarked face

7. (Xiamen, Quanzhou and Singapore Hokkien; Singapore Teochew) stingy; miserly
8. (Zhangzhou Hokkien) lecherous; lascivious
9. (Cantonese, non-productive) person with a non-positive attribute

   花面貓／花面猫 [Cantonese]  ―  faa¹ min⁶ maau¹   ―  someone with a dirty face

   為食貓／为食猫 [Cantonese]  ―  wai⁶ sik⁶ maau¹   ―  gourmand

   病貓／病猫 [Cantonese]  ―  beng⁶ maau¹   ―  someone who is ill or physically weak

• → English: ngeow (via Teochew)

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

貓

1. (Mandarin, colloquial) to bend

   貓腰／猫腰  ―  máoyāo  ―  to bend over; to stoop

• 彎／弯 (wān)

Borrowed from English modem.

貓

2. (Mainland China, colloquial) modem