expat_life
Is the Korean word '괴' in medieval Korean related to the word for cat in Eurasian languages?
C
Carlos Rodriguez🇵🇰
Jan 13, 2026
In Korean, the word '고양이' is said to have originated from Middle Korean '괴', but is there any connection with Eurasian languages? Although there is no related information in the Wiktionary, it feels like the pronunciation is similar. It seems that the current Korean word '고양이' comes from this word.
It is known that the word '고양이' originated in Egypt, so it doesn't seem unreasonable to consider its relevance to Eurasian languages. For example, there are similar examples in the Uralic languages, which is interesting.
Is there anyone who knows more about this etymology? If you have additional information or opinions on the relationship between Middle Korean '괴' and Eurasian languages, I would appreciate it if you could share.
Views 149
Comments (2)
No comments yet