Meanings
plural cats-o'-nine-tails · alternative short form uncommon cat-o'-nine
- nauticalA scourge (multi-tail whip) having nine, often knotted, whipcords, formerly used for flogging as naval punishment.
But I do tell you one thing, if you ſhould give ſuch Language at Sea, you'd have a Cat o' Nine-tails laid croſs your Shoulders.
1695, [William] Congreve, Love for Love: A Comedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, scene vii, page 44 - A similarly constructed leather nine-tail whip, as used in British penal colonies and certain armies.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From cat + o' + nine + tails, cat referring to the inflicted wounds resembling the scratches of a cat. First attested in 1695.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 九尾鞭, 九尾猫
- 九尾鞭nine-corded whip
- 九尾猫 (jiǔwěi māo)nine-corded whip
Czech důtky, devítiocasá kočka
- důtkynine-corded whip
- devítiocasá kočkanine-corded whip
Danish nihalet kat
- nihalet katnine-corded whip
Dutch kat met negen staarten
- kat met negen staartennine-corded whip
Esperanto naŭvosta kato
- naŭvosta katonine-corded whip
Finnish yhdeksänhäntäinen kissa
- yhdeksänhäntäinen kissanine-corded whip
French chat à neuf queues
- chat à neuf queuesnine-corded whip
German neunschwänzige Katze
- neunschwänzige Katzenine-corded whip
Hebrew חָתוּל בַּעַל תִּשְׁעַת הַזְנָבוֹת
- חָתוּל בַּעַל תִּשְׁעַת הַזְנָבוֹת (katul ba'al tish'at zenavot)nine-corded whip
Hungarian kilencfarkú macska
- kilencfarkú macskanine-corded whip
Indonesian cambuk
- cambuknine-corded whip
Italian gatto a nove code
- gatto a nove codenine-corded whip
Korean 아홉꼬리 고양이
- 아홉꼬리 고양이 (ahopkkori goyang'i)nine-corded whip
Norwegian nihalet katt, katt
- nihalet kattnine-corded whip
- kattnine-corded whip
Polish kańczug
- kańczugnine-corded whip
Portuguese chicote
- chicotenine-corded whip
Russian ко́шка, девятихво́стка
- ко́шка (kóška)nine-corded whip
- девятихво́стка (devjatixvóstka)nine-corded whip
Spanish gato de nueve colas
- gato de nueve colasnine-corded whip
Swedish niosvansad katt
- niosvansad kattnine-corded whip
Cite this entry
cat-o'-nine-tails. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cat-o'-nine-tails
“cat-o'-nine-tails.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cat-o'-nine-tails. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cat-o'-nine-tails,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cat-o'-nine-tails.
Source: cat-o'-nine-tails on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.