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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CATMA, CATMAW, n. In phr. to tumble (coup) (the) catma(w), to turn a somersault. Known to Ags. correspondents only (1938).n.Sc. 1808 Jam.:
“To tumble the catmaw,” to go topsy-turvy.
Ags. 1865 Arbroath Guide (28 Jan.) 3/6:
Syne cat ma [they] coup in slumber's lap.
Ags.(D) 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) xi.:
Here's him tumblin' catmas, an' stanin' on his heid i' the middle o' the green.
Dundee 1991 Ellie McDonald The Gangan Fuit 18:
a wheen o halliket herring gulls gae soopan and skreichan
...Their littluns, teeteran
alang the ledges, watch fair bumbazed, as grown-ups
jouk an weave an tummle catmaw through the air.

[First element cat, felis domesticus; for second element cf. Maw, mew. For a similarly formed combination, cf. child's names for animals, such as pussie myau, doggie bow-wow, etc., and for use in phrase cf. Sc. tumble the wullcat, idem, and O.Fr. sault du chat, “the cat leape; a certaine tricke done by Tumblers” (Cotgrave).]

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"Catma n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 20 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/catma>

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