Italian word of the day
| Origin | From the Italian word gatto, meaning “cat”, or gatta, “female cat”, coupled with the suffix –ara that comes from the Roman dialect to denote an activity (like paninaro, someone who’s into fashion and a certain lifestyle) |
| Translation | Cat lady |
| IPA pronunciation | /ɡatˈtaːra/ |
Gattara
Cat lady
Gattara describes a woman who loves cats, often to an excessive extent. A masculine version exists, gattaro, but is uncommon. This is because the stereotype associated with the term gattara often involves a woman.
A gattara‘s obsession with cats often has a negative connotation, like the “crazy cat lady” in The Simpsons cartoon.
Different forms of gattara
Like most nouns in Italian, gattara has two articles (definite or indefinite articles) and two numbers (singular or plural).
Una gattara
A cat lady
Delle gattare
Some cat ladies
La gattara
The cat lady
Le gattare
The cat ladies
Examples
La mia vicina di casa è una gattara.
My next-door neighbor is a cat lady.
La gattara del quartiere sfama una colonia di venti gatti.
The neighborhood cat lady feeds a colony of 20 cats.
Ci sono almeno dieci gatti che aspettano davanti alla casa della gattara.
At least ten cats are waiting in front of the cat lady’s house.
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