catawampus

[ kat-uh-wom-puhs ]

adjective

1. askew; awry.
2. positioned diagonally; cater-cornered.

adverb

1. diagonally; obliquely:

   We took a shortcut and walked catawampus across the field.

Word History and Origins

Origin of catawampus¹

First recorded in 1830–40 for earlier sense “utterly”; cata- diagonally ( cater-cornered ) + -wampus, perhaps akin to wampish

Example Sentences

One set of shutters was missing and the other hung lopsided, like the whole house had been smacked catawampus.

From Literature

Zeus brings me to the beach shortly after passing a catawampus gazebo with several collapsed pilings.

From Washington Post

“We kind of got a little bit catawampus here.”

From Washington Post

Larger tables in the trapezoidal dining room are close and kind of catawampus.

From Seattle Times

They got inside the television, making the picture go catawampus, and streamed frantically across the kitchen floor.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• curved
• curving
• devious
• errant
• gnarled
• meandering
• serpentine
• sinuous
• twisted
• twisting
• winding

More About Catawampus

Where does catawampus come from?

Catawampus, meaning “askew, diagonal,” is first recorded in the 1830–40s. Originally, catawampus also meant “fierce.” It’s thought to be an American colloquialism influenced by the cater- in cater-cornered (or for many of us, kitty-corner) and wampish, Scottish for “flopping about.”

Many more amusing Americanisms await in our slideshow “These Wacky Words Originated In The USA.”

Did you know … ?

Catawampus is also commonly pronounced more like “cattywampus,” probably due to the influence of words with such variants like cater-corned as catty-cornered and kitty-cornered. Despite what you may be thinking, catawampus has nothing to do with cats.

If catawampus comes in part from cater-cornered, that cater- is from the French quatre (and before, Latin quattor), meaning “four.” Here’s a word connection you can bank on: the English word quarter is closely related to the Latin quattor.

Catawampus has no lexical relation to the Wampus Cat, a cougar-like beast connected to Appalachian folklore that has served as an inspiration for a magical animal of the same name in the world of Harry Potter.