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Why are cats called "mogs"?

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I don't know why but I was thinking about the word "mog" and wondered where it came from, and whether it is a "real" word, i.e. one I could find in the dictionary (turns out yes). With the help of the Oxford English Dictionary and Wikipedia I managed to piece together a possible etymology.

mog < shortened from moggy

moggy < regional dialect, a young woman, variant of Maggie

Maggie < pet form of Margaret

Margaret < late Latin Margareta

Margareta < classical Latin margarita, a pearl

margarita < ancient Greek μαργαρίτης (margarites), pearl

μαργαρίτης < Persian murwārīd, pearl

murwārīd < an old Iranian word meaning something coming from a shell

Things may not be as cut and dried as this suggests; for example Margaret may have come into English via French as well as Latin, but the general outline seems broadly correct.

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