Cattiness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The trait of displaying spiteful or malicious behavior, often characterized by engaging in hurtful gossip or rivalry, while also indicating a propensity for petty jealousy among acquaintances
2. A manner of being unkind or mean-spirited, frequently involving gossip and rivalry, which reflects the tendency to express malicious comments, especially in competitive contexts
3. The quality of behaving in a mean or spiteful way, often involving hurtful or jealous remarks directed at others

Etymology: Catty comes from the cat, and the word's path into English runs through a long stack of suffixes. "Cattiness" is simply "catty" with the suffix "-ness" added. That suffix is ancient and common: it descends from Old English "-nes", which turned adjectives into nouns for a quality, so that "good" gave "goodness" and "catty" gave "cattiness." Its earlier ancestry reaches back through Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European, but English inherited it directly rather than borrowing it. The adjective "catty" is the more interesting half. Its base is the animal, and the sense of sly, spiteful gossip grew out of the cat's reputation for sharp, feline behaviour. "Catty" was formed in English by adding a suffix to "cat," and the noun "cattiness" followed in the same way, so the whole word is a plain English formation built from an ordinary animal name.

Synonyms: malice, spite, meanness, cruelty, bitterness

Antonyms: kindness, generosity, compassion, benevolence, goodness