- Moggy
:"Moggy", "moggie" or "moggies", can also be nicknames for the
Common Moorhen . theMorris Minor car, any car made by theMorgan Motor Company and for the drug "Mogadon" (Nitrazepam )."Moggy or moggie (plural moggies) is a British affectionate term for a domestic
cat , but is also used as alternative name for amongrel or mixed-breedcat whose ancestry and pedigree are unknown or only partially known. Because of this mixed ancestry and free-breeding, a moggy can either be very healthy, or, if from an inbredferal colony, genetically unsound and sickly. However, as feral colonies are often left without any form of human intervention and veterinary attention, the most sickly generally do not live past kittenhood.Etymology
The origin of the word moggy is not a corruption of the word 'mongrel', as many believe. It was first recorded in 1911, and was possibly derived from "maggie", "margie" or "mog", all short forms of the female name
Margaret . It is thought this was first used to describe an ungainly lumbering oldcow , and it may even have been a minor rural English name for any cow; since 'moggy' was used in several 1800s Englishdialects as an 'affectionate name' for a cow. As rural people flocked to the cities during the latter part of theIndustrial Revolution , it seems likely that the cow "moggy" became "maggie", applied as a term of abuse for a dishevelled old woman or older prostitute.The word is often used in the North of England to apply to a female cat. This can be seen in the popularGracie Fields song "the biggestaspidistra in the world" which refers to "the moggies and thetomcat s".The origin is obviously confused, but as the early 20th century streets of
London became filled with very many unhealthy looking stray cats, it would have been natural to apply the term "moggy" to describe these unfortunate creatures.In parts of
Lancashire , England the word 'moggy' means "mouse" not "cat".A cat was known as 'the moggy catcher'. It has been suggested that this could be the etymology of the word moggy meaning 'cat' - over time the "catcher" part was dropped from 'the moggy catcher' and so moggy now means both 'mouse' and 'cat'.In
New Zealand the term 'moggy' is popularly assumed to be a reference to the letter M formed on the forehead of tabby cats by their striped markings. However it was most likely introduced by English immigrants.ee also
*
Domestic longhaired cat
*Domestic shorthaired cat References
*Morris, Desmond. "Catlore". New York: Crown Publishers, 1987.
* [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mog1.htm The term "Moggie" discussed] at [http://www.worldwidewords.org World Wide Words] .
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