galeanthropy

ga·le·an·thro·py
G2A1L1E1A1N1T1H4R1O1P3Y4
US, UK/ɡæliˈænθɹəpi/

noun

The mental condition of thinking that one has become a cat, which is usually manifested in the adoption of feline mannerisms and habits.

OriginAncient Greek γαλῆ →
Scrabble 21
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noungaleanthropy (uncountable)
  1. rareuncountableThe mental condition of thinking that one has become a cat, which is usually manifested in the adoption of feline mannerisms and habits.

    Meanwhile his frau made loud mewling and scratching noises in the hallway beyond, deep in the throes of advanced galeanthropy.

    1994 May 20, Matthew Marchese, “Tales of Obscure Usage I”, in talk.bizarre (Usenet), message-ID <1994May20.134031.17065@driftwood.cray.com>
    3 more examples

    "That is the most interesting delusion I've come across since reading up on galeanthropy," said Sophie. […] / "What's galeanthropy?" I asked. / Sophie said, "It's the delusion that you've been turned into a cat."

    1973, M. E. Kerr [pseudonym; Marijane Meaker], chapter 5, in If I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever?, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row; republished Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish, 2009, page 49

    One of the finest novels for children ever written, in my opinion, is Paul Gallico's The Abandoned, in which a young boy named Peter, struck by a van while running across the street to pet a cat, falls into a coma and experiences galeanthropy.

    1996, Charles Harrington Elster, “Dr Elster's Verbal Health Center”, in There's a Word for It!: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 33

    You got through to him?! He [Jack Kevorkian] won't return my calls anymore and his secretary just keeps repeating "No, we don't think suffering from galeanthropy makes one a valid candidate for the doctor's consideration."

    1998 April 15, Serenleono, “Re: Touched by Chris Farely”, in alt.religion.angels (Usenet), message-ID <3537764a.34513787@news.mindspring.com>

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekγαλῆ
  2. Englishgaleanthropy

From Ancient Greek γαλῆ (galê), a contracted form of γαλέη (galéē, “weasel”) + ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “humanity”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Russian галеантропия
  • галеантропия (galeantropija)Translations
Cite this entry
APA

galeanthropy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/galeanthropy

MLA

“galeanthropy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/galeanthropy. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “galeanthropy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/galeanthropy.

Source: galeanthropy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.