moggy

Definition

A domestic cat, especially (depreciative or derogatory) a non-pedigree or unremarkable cat.

Etymology

Unknown, but probably originally Mog + -y, a Scots or Northern English variant of maggie (“girl”), from Maggie, a diminutive of Margaret and Margery. First attested in reference to mongrel cats in Cockney.

Example Sentences

• "Cockney slang... ‘moggies’ for cats."
• "...expect not so fair an enemy as Cromwel, nor such fair quarter as now is given thee: Jockey, Jemmy, and Moggy thy she-souldier, must than all to the sword..."
• "...in another Hut, a parcel of Scoth Pedlars and their Moggies, Dancing a Highlanders Jig..."