Crosswords1 min ago
The Cat in the Hat in Latin
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Does Cattus Petasatus really mean the Cat in the Hat? If not, what is the Latin for 'in the hat'? Surely the word for 'hat' would be ablative?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.davver There's a review of the book here (in the lower section of the page) and the title translates as "the cat with the travelling cap on"
A petasus was a flat felt hat with a broad brim, so 'petasatus' would be appropriate enough as a generalised adjective to mean 'hatted' or 'in a hat'. (Wasn't Dr Seuss's cat in a tall red hat, however?)
The basic Latin word for 'cat' was 'feles', which is - I believe - a feminine word. Personally, therefore, I'd be happier with 'Feles petasata', though the WWW is full of references to 'Cattus Petasatus'!