catamite

English

Etymology

From Latin catamītus (“boy kept as a sexual partner”), from Catamītus, from Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌕𐌌𐌉𐌕𐌄 (catmite), from Ancient Greek Γανυμήδης (Ganumḗdēs, “Ganymede”), an attractive Trojan boy supposedly abducted to Mount Olympus by the god Zeus to become his cupbearer and lover. Doublet of Ganymede.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkætəmaɪt/
• Hyphenation: cat‧a‧mite

Noun

catamite (plural catamites)

1. A boy or younger man in a homoerotic relationship with an older man. [1552]

   Synonyms: Ganymede, punk, gunsel; see also Thesaurus:male homosexual

   • 1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers, page 7:

     It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.

   • 2007 July 4, Mere Smith, “Heroes of the Republic”, in Rome, season 2, episode 5, spoken by Lyde:

     And what about your brother? – Is he to be a catamite?

Derived terms

• catamitism

Translations

catamite

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 孌童 / 娈童 (zh) (luántóng)

• Coptic: ⲙⲁⲗⲁⲕⲟⲥ (malakos)
• Finnish: katamiitti
• French: catamite (fr) m
• German: Lustknabe (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: μαλακός m (malakós), ἐρώμενος m (erṓmenos)

• Hebrew: קָדֵשׁ (he) m (qadésh)
• Hindi: विदूषक (hi) m (vidūṣak)
• Japanese: 陰間 (ja) (かげま, kagema), 稚児 (ja) (ちご, chigo)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: hîz (ku) m

• Latin: catamītus m, pathicus m, delicium n, glaber m
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: аруухан хөвгүүн (aruuxan xövgüün)

  Mongolian: ᠠᠷᠤᠤᠬᠠᠨ
  ᠬᠥᠪᠡᠭᠦᠨ (aruuqan köbegün)

• Ottoman Turkish: ككز (kekiz), حیز (hiz), ابنه (ibne)
• Pashto: چسکه
• Persian: بچه‌قشنگ (bačče-qašang), بچه‌خوشگل (bačče-xošgel)
• Portuguese: catamita m
• Russian: катами́т (ru) m (katamít)
• Sanskrit: विदूषक (sa) m (vidūṣaka)
• Spanish: catamito m
• Turkish: oğlan (tr)
• Uyghur: ھەزىلەك (hezilek)
• Welsh: bryntwas m

Verb

catamite (third-person singular simple present catamites, present participle catamiting, simple past and past participle catamited)

1. To engage in a homoerotic relationship involving a boy and an older man.

See also

• pathic

References

• “catamite, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.